RWBY: The Storm of KEPL
by RyuJudge6614
Summary: They've fought battle after battle, knowing nothing but the darkness of the world. Now, their journey takes them to Beacon Academy to become official huntsmen. Join Khazhak Rairyu and his three comrades as they face new trials that lie ahead of them. They've been through Hell, but perhaps with Team RWBY's help, they can find a new purpose and finally see the light. Canon.
1. Prologue 1: Blue

**Here we are at a new story. I've actually had this written out for a long time now and I continue to write it out as RWBY continues through the volumes. But, I finally feel confident enough to start posting it on Fanfiction: a RWBY story with my own OC team. Some of the things in my story may either make no sense, be from other media sources, or end up not being liked by viewers, but I want people to know what my OC team looks like. Anyway, this is the first prologue (trailer) chapter of my story staring my main OC, Khazhak Rairyu. I'll have the others, and a character profile chapter come up in the future. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only on my OCs. Anyway, let's start the story.**

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 **Prologue one: Blue**

 _What's important is not whether you win or lose, but that when you lose, you can rise back up and fight again. To have the RESOLVE to keep going, no matter what you lose, no matter what you sacrifice._

In the South Western section of the Kingdom of Vale, there lies an abandoned military outpost that is far from being truly abandoned. Inside, people wearing the same uniforms were watching over the outpost. These are the soldiers of the White Fang, a Faunus equality movement turned terrorist organization, hell bent on destroying humanity for all the pain they have suffered in the past. At the main entrance, two White Fang soldiers keep watch for anything suspicious or anyone looking for a death wish. As they resume their post, one of the guards notices something moving in the distant tree line, moving towards them. Within moments, a figure comes forward. This figure turns out to be a human boy with short blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a long black jacket with blue spikes on the arms, and blue lightning bolt markings. On the forearms are silver gauntlets with blue markings and a symbol of a blue dragon with two lightning bolts under its wings on the back of the jacket. Underneath the jacket is a tight-fitting zip-up short-sleeved black shirt with blue lightning bolt markings. He is also wearing dark pants with side pockets, more blue lightning bolt markings, a blue and black belt, and dark combat boots. Finally, there are small metallic mechanisms on the sides of the boy's belt. After seeing that the boy is human, the two guards immediately point their guns at him, ready to shoot. One of them speaks to the boy.

"You must be either lost or stupid to end up coming here, human. You just made a big mistake," one guard threatens him.

Just as they are about to fire, the boy launches a bolt of lightning at the guards, sending them through the doors and into the building, unconscious. The sudden shockwave of the doors being blasted open alerts the rest of the White Fang members to the situation as all heads turned to the entrance. The human boy casually walks through the entrance, eyeing every masked soldier as they all turn their guns and swords on him. The boy pulls the two metal objects from his belt and they change form, extending into two large serrated swords with gun mechanisms equipped onto the blades. Even as the soldiers move closer to the boy, he maintains his calm, almost emotionless demeanor and speaks for the first time.

"Members of the White Fang. Prepare to be judged," he says.

With that said, the boy sprints forward to face his many opponents. The ones with the guns begin firing at him while the ones with the swords charge him, hoping to slice him in half. The boy blocks the incoming fire with his swords and when they come close, does a three-sixty degree spin, with his left sword deflecting the enemy's swords and the right sword connecting with their bodies. After that, He starts attacking with surprising speed with his large swords, landing an upward and then downward swing with his right sword before finishing one opponent off with a horizontal swing with his left sword. The second opponent comes rushing forward with his sword raised high, ready to strike. The boy simply kicks the goon in the stomach before dealing three hits with his weapons, knocking that soldier out. Two more come forth from opposite sides, hoping to crush the intruder, but he points his swords at them and pulls a trigger mechanism on each, firing his two guns, and sending both enemies to walls behind them. Three soldiers with guns begin firing again at him, but he fires his weapons behind him, sending him straight at them, avoiding the incoming rounds before subsequently spinning like a twister and striking all three until they were down and out.

Looking over his work, the boy noticed a door open up to reveal two more White Fang soldiers wearing different outfits, most likely lieutenants, each carrying a different weapon. One had a glaive with a small thruster behind the blade to increase the speed and power of the swings. The other carried a chain that had a large spiked balsl at each end, swinging them in a circular motion. The one with the glaive charges at the boy, swinging his weapon and using the built-in thruster to make the swing more powerful, connecting with the boy's blades as they blocked the attack, but the boy was pushed back from the attack, sliding across the ground on his feet. The Lt. with the chain came from behind and launches both spiked balls at the boy, who reacts just in time and jumps up to dodge the attack before firing his swords' guns at the attacker while also propelling him towards the other opponent. The boy thrusts his right foot at his target, who blocked with his weapon before pushing him back and then counterattacking with several thrusts and swings. The boy blocks and deflects all the attacks until the second Lt. came back into the fight by throwing both of his spiked balls, wrapping around the boy's arms, holding him back. Just as the first opponent is about to hit his target, the boy dropps his swords and grabbs the chains around his arms, releasing bolts of lightning that follow the chains and shock his opponent. This action releases the young man from his hold, just in time to stop the first Lt.'s downward swing of his blade with his hands grasping the blade.

The boy looks at his opponent before moving his opponent's weapon and lands a punch on his face before kicking him away. The boy grabs his swords as the second Lt. came back for another strike and begins trading blows with him. The boy manages to get one chain wrapped around his left sword so he can slice the chain off with his right sword. Afterwards, the boy begins landing blow after blow on his opponent before moving behind him and sending a strong kick that sends the White Fang Lt. flying straight into his partner. As they get up from the collision, they see the boy combine his two swords to form one buster-sized sword, holding it with both hands. He fires his guns behind him, launching him to his targets with breakneck speed. Before they could react, the boy comes close enough and swings his large sword at them, colliding with both opponents, sending them to a wall at one end of the complex. Hurting from that last attack, the two soldiers get back up for another round, but look up in horror. The boy begins charging more lightning into his sword, ready to unleash a powerful technique.

"LIGHTNING TORNADO CRUSHER!" he yells.

The boy spins his sword before swinging downward, sending a horizontal twister made of lightning at his opponents. When the attack hits, a massive explosion occurs, destroying the building and sending the two soldiers out of the building. When the dust clears, the boy approaches one of the Lt.'s who was barely conscious on the ground, grabs him by the neck and lifts him up off his feet while looking him straight in the eye. The Faunus can only look at him in fear.

"Who are you?! What do you want from us?!" he asks out of fear.

The boy answers, "My name is Khazhak Rairyu. And what I want is for you and your organization to stop harming innocent people." As the boy said this, his hold on the White Fang member's throat began to close, choking the poor being until he answers. "Understood?"

"The humans must pay for all the pain they caused us. If they won't respect us, then they will fear us! W-wait, what a-are you doing? I...can't…breathe!" the Faunus retorts, which makes the boy, unsatisfied with his answer, choke the Faunus until he is dead with one hand before dropping the limp body to the ground.

The boy, now known as Khazhak Rairyu, turns to leave in order to head to his next destination. While walking forward, the boy only had one thing on his mind.

 _"For those who harm the innocent, know this. The Storm of Judgment is coming for you all. However, I know I cannot do this alone. I require a new form of strength, a strength that comes from a team. I will need to create my own team first. One who can understand me, one who have suffered under the same darkness as me,"_ he thinks as he leaves.

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 **And that's the first prologue. Just so you know, their semblances may end up being different than the normal kind in RWBY, but hey, this is fanfiction. Just so you know, his semblance is a little similar to Nora's, but it works differently than hers, and I already thought to use it before I saw what Nora's semblance was in Volume 3. Anyway, the next prologue will come soon enough. Until then, please read and review.**


	2. Prologue 2: Red

**Here's the second prologue chapter featuring my second OC, Edom Soul Reaper. An old friend of mine actually came up with this character idea and added it to my team. I just worked with the idea to create the rest of the character. Just in case, I do not own the character design, one because my friend came up with it and two, because the design is based off some characters from different media sources. Anyway, let's begin.**

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 **Prologue 2: Red**

 _Everyone feels fear; is afraid of something. But they must not let that fear consume them. However, those that control their fears, and master them, will gain the strength to move forward._

In the Eastern kingdom of Mistral, in the northern section of the kingdom, the people live in fear. Not from the threat of Grimm attacks, but rather from the local mafia that controls that part of the city. While the police have been doing what they can do stop them, they have made little progress in their objective because the mafia knows how to use the law against them and because any witnesses who do agree to testify against them usually end up dead, and the rest flee for fear of being next. At the mafia's headquarters, the leader of this little syndicate wis on the second floor, going over their ongoing operations and deciding where to go with them in the future. Little did they know of the danger that is approaching them. There were at least five guards situated at the front of the building, keeping an eye out for anything or anybody suspicious from the few windows that the building had. Suddenly, a knock came on the front door, not unnoticed by the guards as one of them went to the door to see who it could be.

"Who is it? What do you want?" The guard spoke as he approached the door.

"I have a package for you. Someone ordered a wine package for eight," a voice spoke from the other side of the door. One of the other guards decides to speak then.

"It's probably the boss who ordered it. Business has been good, and we all know how much of a wine critic he can be sometimes." The other guards agree with him, so thinking there was nothing to worry about, the guard at the door opens it to see outside. Not surprising, there is a basket set on the ground before him, filled with different wine bottles. As the guard kneels down to get it, he fails to notice the shadowy figure behind him. The guard is grabbed around the chest by a long, curved blade and flung back through the doors and into the room with the other guards. Surprised at this turn of events, the guards take out their weapons. Two had axes, one had a pistol, and the other two took out two swords. All faces turn to the doors to see the cause of this disturbance walk right through the front door. Due to his height, the person could be assumed to be a teenager, around seventeen, but they could not see his face because of the mechanical skull mask with red eyes that hid it. The figure is wearing a hood over his head with two fabric straps that hung down the sides of his head. He is wearing what seems to be some kind of medieval armor on his chest, shoulder armor with the face of a skull with red horns, and robe-like clothe that went down to his ankles, over armor around his legs (basically the angel of death from Diablo 3: reaper of souls, but red and with the skull mask from Death Gun in Sword Art Online 2). He carries with him a scythe, but with a blade on each end of the staff rather than just one blade, and it also had red markings on it. On the left side of the hood, one could see the symbol of a red soul of sorts with two scythes behind it in a cross pattern.

"Good evening gentlemen. I am here to ask you one question." The mysterious figure speaks from behind the mask, which made his voice almost seem robotic.

"And that would be what exactly? 'Will you please be gentle when you kill me?" One guard spoke as all the others began laughing before moving closer to the intruder.

The figure responds, "No. My question to you is: what is it you fear most?" The figure, a young man, spoke before sprinting forth with his twin scythe positioned behind his back towards his opponents. The guard with the pistol starts firing at his target while the others moved in closer to finish him off. The hooded warrior spun his twin scythe in front of him to block the bullets before colliding his weapon with the axes of two of the guards. The young man spins his weapon clockwise, moving the axes out of the way and then swinging in a fury of blades that take out the first two guards before moving onto the next three. The guards with the swords come at him and begin simultaneously swinging their swords, hoping to cleave his head off. The hooded boy spins his weapon again, this time to block their attacks before going on the offensive with a kick to each guard and then a swing from his twin scythe. Before he could follow up, he is stopped by the fifth guard who fired his pistol again now that he had a clear shot. The young man runs through the room towards the guard, using whatever furniture he could find as shield in conjunction with his weapon until he comes close enough to take out his pistol before wrapping his blade around the guard's neck and swinging him into a wall where he is left unconscious. The two remaining guards get back up and come at the intruder from behind, hoping to get a hit on him. The hooded man notices this and throws his twin scythe above them which slices off the chain for a rather large chandelier and sends it crashing onto the two unsuspecting bad guys. Done with the first batch of criminals, the hooded figure moves deeper into the building and then up to the second floor, looking for the mafia's leader. As he gets closer to the room he believed they were in, he is met with more resistance. Resistance in the form of a large, but fit, man in a military styled outfit, wearing gloves with what basically looked like brass knuckles on steroids.

"Sorry, but the boss said no uninvited guests to this party," the brute says taking a fighting stance.

"I invited myself. I don't wait for permission from criminals," the young man says before getting into his own stance. The two combatants charge at each other, with the brute thrusting forth his right fist as the hooded figure swings his twin scythe. The weapons collide, but the hooded man is pushed back due to the large man's incredible strength. The man came at the hooded figure and started throwing punches left and right while the boy is only able to dodge them, knowing that trying to block the attacks would only result in him getting sent flying backwards. Unfortunately, one punch landed on its target and the hooded boy got sent flying back into a wall behind him, cracking and nearly breaking from the impact. The large bodyguard approached his kneeling adversary, ready to finish the job.

"So, any last words, freak?" The man asks as he pulled back his right fist.

"Yes, actually. What do you fear most?" The boy asks before his scythe starts glowing in the red sections. He then slams one end of the weapon on the ground, releasing three flying red skulls phantoms that collide with his enemy. The man, hurt from the attack, looks back at his opponent, poised to attack. However, the second he looks at his target, he is suddenly overwhelmed by one intense emotion: fear. He starts sweating like crazy and stumbling backwards as his opponent gets back on his feet and points his weapon at him.

"Ah, I see now. What you fear most…is me." The hooded boy raises his scythe and then swings it down on his opponent, repeating this action until his opponent dies from the attacks, and the fear. Done with this last obstacle, the hooded figure walks to the doors in front of him before slicing them down with his twin scythe. There in the room is the mafia's leader, standing in a corner with a gun raised at the intruder.

"You?! You think you can just waltz in here, shut down my business, and get away with it?!" The mafia boss tries to sound and act tough, but the hooded figure ccan see the hand holding the gun is shaking. He is afraid. The hooded figure raises his scythe, the red sections glowing once more, and asks the crime boss.

"What do you fear most?" He speaks before slamming his scythe, sending another pack of flying red skulls at his target. The crime boss tries shooting them, taking out two but cannot hit the third before it hits him. With fear engulfing his mind, the man could only look on in horror as his attacker comes closer, ready to end him.

"Please! Please don't kill me!" The mafia boss screams in absolute terror.

"Oh don't worry, I will not kill you…. I'll simply make sure you're too afraid to hurt anyone ever again." And with that said, the hooded figure releases more red skulls that encircled the scared criminal, making him scream louder than ever until he passed out from the mental trauma and then the skulls dissipate. With his work done, the hooded figure leaves the building, and alerts the police of the mafia's location before leaving the scene. As he is leaving the area, he is met by an unexpected visitor.

"Impressive display of skill," The hooded figure turns to look at the face the speaker, none other than Khazhak Rairyu.

"Who are you? Let me guess, you're here to get payback for your criminal friends," The hooded figure says before getting into another combat stance.

"Don't insult me. No way in Hell would I ever work with criminals who harm innocent people. And as for your earlier question, my name is Khazhak Rairyu," he replies.

"Okay. Then if you're not with them, what do you want?" the hooded figure asks.

"What is your name?" Khazhak asks him.

"…Edom. Edom Soul Reaper," The figure, now known as Reaper, replies.

"Reaper, huh. Well Reaper... I have a proposition for you…" Khazhak begins.

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 **And that's the second prologue chapter. Yes, as mentioned earlier, Edom basically looks like the angle of death from Diablo 3: Reaper of souls, but with some red coloring, and wears Death Gun's mask from SAO: GGO. My old friend wanted his OC to look something like the angle with a skull mask and my mind kept on going to that, so I ran with it. Again, I do not own the original ideas the design was based off of. Two down, two to go. I'll explain his semblance in the character profile page. Until then, please Read and Review.**


	3. Prologue 3: Purple

**Here we are at the third prologue chapter with my third OC, Porphyrius Darkwing. I know that that one World of Remnant episode said that half-Faunus don't really exist, but let's just say that it's not that they don't exist, it's just that they're EXTREMELY rare, for this case. Anway, I do not own RWBY. They Belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's the third prologue. Enjoy.**

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 **Prologue 3: Purple**

 _We all carry a burden that we must bear in our lives. I've carried a burden that was placed on me since the day I was born. I carry a burden that no one else can bear._

It is night in the Southwestern section of the kingdom of Mistral. Outside the kingdom lie many smaller villages, for which all are easier targets for attacks. Not too far off from one village beyond the kingdom, a small fire could be seen amidst the darkness that engulfs a small forest. Lying next to the fire is a young man with black hair that covers the right side of his face. Beneath the hair is an eyepatch with a swirling purple circle of sorts that almost looks like an eye itself. The rest of the face can be seen, with the left purple eye being visibly shown. The boy is wearing a black and purple shirt, with a neck line that covers the lower half of his face. The shirt has shoulder pads, each with a long, purple strap extending from it to the waist. The boy is wearing a long cloth, black on the outside, and purple on the inside, around his waist while being held in place by a purple belt. Below the waist the boy is wearing black pants that end at the bottom with a purple section and black shoes. On his back, one could notice a silver metal backpack.

The boy is just simply watching the fire, thinking about his present situation.

" _I've been protecting this village for some time now. I have taken out most of the Grimm in this forest, and yet they still do not accept me simply because I'm half-human and half-Faunus. When will someone finally accept me for me?"_ The boy wonders.

As the boy continues thinking to himself, he hears rustling in the bushes behind him. Standing up, he turns around only to lock his purple eye with red eyes. The eyes of a Grimm. First it was one set of eyes, then it becomes many as they begin to appear from behind the bushes. It is a pack of Beowolves. They surround the lone being, ready to kill him. The boy just cracks his neck before activating his weapon. The sides of his backpack detached from the main section, two blades that extend and attach themselves to his arms. Under the blades are automatic guns for ranged attacks. The boy eyes his enemies, ready to finish off what is left of the Grimm in this area.

"Alright you bastards. Who wants to die fist?" The boy asks as he prepares to fight.

The Beowolves all charge at their prey, ready to rip him to shreds. The boy starts firing his guns, sending a storm of bullets at his opponents, taking out some of them before the rest get close. The closest swing with its right claw, but the boy ducks while shoving his right blade into the Grimm's chest, killing it. The young warrior blocks an attack from another enemy before sending both his arms forward, sending the blades through the Grimm's stomach, ending its life as well. The boy begins running at his opponents, stabbing another Grimm and firing his gun, launching it off his weapon. More Grimm appear, but the boy fires his guns while spinning his body, sending rounds in every direction, striking at Grimm and the trees of the forest. When he is done, he notices that all the remaining Beowolves are dead, and their bodies begin to dissipate like all Grimm do. However, he hears a loud roar and looks over to see a group of Ursai coming at him.

"Time to bring out the big guns." The boy says as he focused dark, purple circles around his weapons before aiming them at his targets. "Dark Void Anchors" The boy says before firing his guns, sending more rounds at his enemies.

However, when these rounds hit their targets, dark spherical weights appeared on the parts of their bodies that the bullets hit. These weights force the Grimm to fall to the ground, unable to stand up with the added weight. After this, the boy runs at his grounded opponents, slashing at his prey until they are all dead just like their predecessors. However, the boy still has one more enemy to fight. Hearing footsteps behind him, the boy turns around to see an Ursa Major. The boy could only smirk at his last opponent.

"So you're the boss for all these monsters. I've been looking for you for some time now. Maybe after I kill you, the village will finally accept me," The boy says as he reloads his guns before aiming them at his remaining target and fires.

The bullets seems to hurt the Grimm, but not enough for it to die quickly enough as it begins charging at its prey. When it gets close enough, the bear-like Grimm swings its right paw hoping to hit its target, but the young boy rolls to the left and fires again at the monster's back. The Grimm, angered by the attack on its back, turns around and roars before charging at him again. The boy waits until the last second before jumping over the Grimm. However, the Grimm jumped up high enough for the boy to slam into its bone spines and then hits him again with its left paw, sending him into a tree. The Grimm runs at its downed opponent, hoping to finish him off with one last hit. When the Grimm gets close, it opens its mouth, ready to chomp the boy's head off. That is what the young man was waiting for. He shoots his right blade into its mouth, with the gun aimed right at its throat.

"Dark Void Anchor!" The boy shouts before firing multiple anchor shots into the Grimm.

The bullets went deep into its body, changing into their weight forms when they hit the insides. The Grimm starts losing its balance and is choking for air until it falls to the ground, holding onto its final breath. The boy rises to the monster before stabbing both swords into its skull, ending its misery. With the battle finally over, the boy releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. The young warrior turns to head back to the village, hoping that when they hear what he did, they would finally accept him.

"Maybe now they won't see me as an abomination," The boy says as he continues walking to the village. Although, the tone of his words showed that he isn't entirely convinced.

"We both know that isn't true." An unknown voice rang out.

The boy turns and aims his guns at the potential threat. Focusing on the location where the voice came from, the boy locks his one eye with the eyes of Khazhak Rairyu.

"Who are you? You don't look like someone from the village? And what do you mean by what you said before?" The boy asks, not lowering his weapons at the newcomer.

"My name is Khazhak Rairyu. No, I'm not from the village. And you know what I mean by what I said," Khazhak says while maintaining his calm demeanor even when having guns pointed at his head.

"I've been protecting the village from Grimm ever since I got here. Sure, they didn't like me because of what I am, but that will change when they learn that they are safe now," the boy counters.

"They haven't been accepting you for a long time now. What makes you think that will change now? Because the Grimm in this area are all gone. The sad truth of it is: people fear what they don't understand or can't control, and often lash out at it in order to try and control it or destroy it. They don't accept you because you are half-human and half-Faunus," Khazhk says.

The boy looks down, lowering his weapons because he knew that deep down, he is right. That village, and the ones before will never accept him simply because of what he is.

"Then what do you suggest I do?" the boy asks Khazhak.

"What is your name?" Khazhak questions him.

"Porphyrius Darkwing," the boy, known as Porphyrius Darkwing, replies.

"Porphyrius, I offer you a choice. You can either continue this meaningless endeavor of going from village to village, on the misplaced hope that someone in them will accept you. Or you can come with me, and live a life where you will have purpose, comrades you can trust, and meet people who will accept you." Khazhak's offer got Porphyrius thinking about his options.

He speaks up to ask another question to him, "How do you know there will be people that will accept me? Who would accept me for what I am?" Porphyrius retorts.

"Me for one. I don't care about whether you're a human, a Faunus, or both. All I see before me is a young warrior with skills I need and looking for a home that I can provide," Khazhak says.

"You truly don't care if I'm a half-breed?" Porphyrius asks, shocked by Khazhak's words.

"That is for you to decide. Now, what is your answer?" Porphyrius looks Khazhak straight in the eyes, seeing no hint of deception. He thinks it over before coming to a decision.

"My answer is….."

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 **And that's the third prologue. One more to go and then the profile chapter before we can get into the real story. Khazhak has found another comrade for his cause. Who will the last one be? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	4. Prologue 4: Grey

**Here we are at the final prologue, with my last main OC, Lloyd Jyousai. His semblance is definitely different from others, but I'll explain it later in the character profile chapter. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's the fourth prologue. Enjoy.**

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 **Prologue 4: Grey**

 _Walls are built up to protect us. I use my walls, though, to fight back and become stronger. I use my defense as my greatest offense._

In the eastern region of the northern kingdom of Atlas, where most of the land is covered in a thin layer of snow over forest trees and grass, there is a person running through the trees. Running as if this person is trying to get away from someone or something. This person, a teenage boy, is wearing slightly thin, but strong grey armor around his body and over black clothing. The armor is impressively designed to offer strong defense without constricting too much movement. He is wearing shoulder armor that fell to above his elbows, skirt armor that parted to give his legs more mobility, and leg armor for protecting his legs. On the arms were bladed gauntlets that appeared to have a gun mechanism under the arms. The young man's face has a fair complexion and grey eyes, along with short grey hair. On the back of his armor, below his neck is a symbol of a shield with claws holding it on its sides.

The boy is running through the snow covered forest, not knowing where he is going, but he keeps running anyway. As the boy is running, he looks forward only to stop suddenly. Looking forward, he comes face to faceplate with several Altesian Knight-130s or "AK-130" for short. The boy turns around only to see more of the same robots coming in from behind. Quickly, the boy is surrounded as all the AK-130s formed a circle around him, with all their guns pointed at him.

"Subject 86. Stand down and surrender. We have orders to return you to the base for reconditioning. If you do not comply, we will use deadly force," One of the robots spoke with its mechanical voice, devoid of emotion.

"Like Hell I'm going back to that Hell hole. You'll have to kill me first," The boy says with disgust laced in his voice. Just then, the blades on the gauntlets extended and attached themselves to the boy's fingers, forming sharp claws as the boy got into his combat stance. "Time to scrap you walking trash cans," The boy says before lunging at the first robot, grabbing its head with his right claw and crushing it, shutting down the machine.

The rest of the robots begin firing at the boy, who uses the dead AK-130 as a shield while running towards his next opponent. When he gets close enough, the boy throws the dead robot at one of the others and performs a downward slash with his right claw on another, slicing it into multiple pieces. Running past his latest victim, the boy evades enemy fire or blocks it with his gauntlets before getting close enough to shred two more robots with his claws. Seeing as how guns aren't going to work, the rest of the machines change their guns into wrist blades and run at the armored young man. The boy points his arms at the approaching enemies before flexing his fingers, firing his two gauntlet guns sending rounds at the heads of two robots, blowing them clear off their bodies. The boy then runs towards the other machines and grabs the blades of two robots that were sent in a downward slash at him. He flexed his fingers, firing his guns and destroying their arms. He then sent his claws into their torsos before ripping them out, shutting those two robots down. Three more machines come at him from different angles, but the boy grabs the right arm of one of them and swings the robot at the other two, sending them flying. He then throws the robot he was currently holding into the air before impaling it with both claws and then ripping it in half. Turning around, he sees four more AK-130s with rocket launchers, and they were all aimed at him. They fired four rockets at him, with all of them hitting their target. Unable to see their target due to the smoke from the explosion, the AK-130s waited for it to clear, not lowering their weapons as per their programming. From the dust, four rounds came out and struck the heads of the four robots with the rocket launchers, taking them out. The remaining thirteen robots looked to see the boy standing unscathed. However, not only was he unscathed, his entire body was encased in a steel armor from head to toe.

"Nice try scrap piles. But as you can see, that 'conditioning' of yours helped me unlock my semblance and it just so happens to be a semblance that gives me a major defense upgrade. This armor isn't just good for defense, though," The boy says before running to his enemies.

They fire their guns at him, but the bullets have no effect against his new armor. When he gets close, he rears back his right hand before punching one robot in the chest. Due to the steel around his fist, the attack became much stronger, and launched the robot back in pieces. The boy begins destroying his enemies one by one, all the while the machines try to hurt him back, but fail when their attacks can't penetrate his armor. When there is just four robots left, the boy deactivates his semblance and then he jumps onto one of the robots before jumping off of it and into one of the trees. The boy fires his guns behind him to jump higher into the air, right above the four remaining machines. When he was high in the air, he reactivates his semblance and raises his right claw, ready to strike.

"STEEL SMASH!" The boy yells while falling towards the ground.

He thrusts his fist as he reaches the ground and the resulting impact destroys the ground around him and the four AK-130s are torn to shreds from the impact and the debris being blown from the attack. With the attack finished, the boy looks around to see that all the robots are dead and no more seemed to be approaching for now. Thinking he is in the clear for now, the boy is about to continue his hundred yard dash when he suddenly stops at the sound of a voice. Only this time, the voice was from a human instead of a machine.

"You sure know how to go out with a bang," a voice sounds out.

The boy looks over to see another human boy around his age, wearing a long, black jacket with blue lightning markings over a black shirt and black pants and shoes, covered in more blue lightning markings.

"Are you also from the base? I thought I was the only one left," the young man asks.

"I'm not from the base. And before you think it, no I am not here to bring you back," the newcomer says.

"Who are you then? Why are you here?" the armored boy asks again.

"My name is Khazhak Rairyu. And I am here to offer you a way out of all this crap. I could use man of your talents," Khazhak replies.

"What about those bastards back at the base?" the other boy questions him.

"Don't worry. I took care of them and that stupid base while you were having your little triathlon in the woods here. Now then, do you still wish to keep running aimlessly, or do you want to come with me and not have to see this place ever again?" Khazhak asks.

The boy in grey armor thinks about it and decides that anyplace would be better than this forest of Hell.

"Alright, I guess I'll take my chances with you," the boy answers.

"Good choice. Now let's go before we have to deal with anymore issues. Oh, I forgot to ask. What is your name?" Khazhak asks him.

"Don't know. They only ever called me Subject 86 back at the base," the boy replies.

"That is not a name, it is a number. Well then I guess I'll just have to give you a name," Khazhak says.

Khazhak looks at the boy while having his right hand to his chin, deep in thought. He thinks for a moment until he gets an idea.

"How about… Lloyd. Lloyd Jyousai? It means 'grey fortress," Khazhak suggests.

The boy in armor thinks about the name, even sounding it out in his mind.

"Lloyd Jyousai. I like it. Lloyd it is then," the boy, now named Lloyd Jyousai, answers.

"Very well then. Now let's get moving, Lloyds," Khazhak says as he turns to leave.

With that, the boy now named Lloyd follows Khazhak to who knows where. Even though he is walking into the unknown, he can't help but smile a little bit, now knowing that he has a real name. And so, the four warriors have been revealed, preparing to unleash their strength onto the world of Remnant, a world that may or may not be ready for what they can do together as a team.

* * *

 **And that's the final prologue. The next chapter is the character profile chapter, and then the story begins. His semblance may not seem right due to Aura, but let's just say that one, it ties into his character and role in the team, and two, think of it as like a shield for a shield of sorts, if that makes sense. Now all four main OCs have been introduced. What do they have planned for Remnant? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	5. Character profile chapter

**Here is the character profile chapter. Just a little short chapter to get a better understanding of my OC team. Of course, I can't reveal everything about my OCs right from the start so I may or may not have an updated character profile chapter in the future. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Khazhak Rairyu:**

 **Color:** Blue (name means "Blue-eyed Thunder Dragon).

 **Nickname:** Brother (by Lloyd), Storm of Judgment (himself)

 **Race:** Human

 **Gender:** Male

 **Age:** 17

 **Birthday:** Unknown

 **Outfit:** Black, blue

 **Accessories:** silver gauntlets with blue lightning bolt markings, black and blue belt, family necklace

 **Handiness:** Right

 **Complexion:** Fair

 **Height:** 5'9"

 **Hair color:** blonde

 **Eye color:** blue

 **Aura color:** blue

 **Semblance:** Lightning

 **Status:** Active

 **Relatives:** Unnamed father (deceased), unnamed mother (deceased), unnamed younger sister (deceased), Lloyd Jyousai (Sworn Brother)

 **Personality:** Khazhak usually maintains a calm, serious demeanor wherever he goes, believing that letting one's emotions get the better of them will result in costly mistakes. He sees the world in a dark light, believing that sometimes in order to protect the light, one must work in the darkness and do what needs to be done. In combat, he becomes more serious, and more vicious, not wasting time with crushing his opponents with his overwhelming power. However, he despises the idea of using cheap tricks or dirty tactics to win; preferring to face his opponents straight up with honor. If he has to, he will not hesitate to kill his opponents if it means protecting his comrades or the innocent. He wholeheartedly believes in the principal "it is the duty of the strong to protect the weak". He does not fight for, what he believes, a misguided sense of justice. Rather, he fights to ensure that the weak and the innocent don't suffer as he has suffered.

He holds a kind of monopoly on judgment, sometimes saying the words "prepare to be judged" before fighting an opponent. He also sometimes refers to himself as "The Storm of Judgment", looking to bring his judgment down on those that harm the weak, those that he deems are guilty.

Because of the events of his past (which will be seen throughout the story), Khazhak does not really smile or feel happy anymore, believing that the light within his soul has already burnt out. Many of his other beliefs, he inherited from his late father's teachings, who was once a huntsman. As one who has been through much, he is more mature and grown up than most his age. Throughout his travels, he has made a few connections, and has learned quite a few things, which he believes may be necessary for future events. He hates cowardice and dishonor, and has no problem making it known. He also has no trouble calling things like he sees them and will speak his mind, no matter who he speaks it to.

Basically, Khazhak Rairyu is a dark, hardened, yet honorable warrior who lives by his own code of beliefs and is willing to do almost anything to accomplish his goals.

 **Powers and Abilities:**

As the son of a dead huntsman, Khazhak has been trained from a very young age to be a warrior, thus making him incredibly skilled in combat. He has more experience than most, and he knows how to use it. He can wield his swords, Narukami, with ease, but when combined, he usually wields it with both hands to properly wield it. Though not the best shot of his team, Khazhak maintains good accuracy with the gun mechanisms on his swords, preferring to fight up close rather than at a distance. His physical strength is higher than some, with only a select few that have more raw power than him (such as Lloyd). Even without his swords, Khazhak is well adept at fighting hand-to-hand combat, believing that a weapon is only as strong as the one who wields it. He can use his gauntlets for defense when fighting unharmed and displays martial arts skills similar to self-defense, boxing, baji quan, and a little tae qwon do. His senses are heightened due to his training, able to pick up a person's presence when they're close by, but concealed. As the leader of his group, Khazhak has good judgment and knows how to look at the bigger picture. He mostly thinks before he acts, and tries to keep his comrades best interests in mind when he makes his move. He can make good plans, and knows how to adapt to a changing situation fairly quickly.

 **Weapon:** Narukami (thunder god): a pair of semi-large serrated swords with gun mechanisms along the back of the blade. On the blade is a blue lightning symbol and a blue edge on the blade. Can combined to form a buster sword (the swords combine at the back ends and the handles fuse together to become one handle) or a dual spear (by the ends of the handles). It acts as a conduit for Khazhak's semblance. The guns have some recoil to them, but Khazhak handles them easily, even using them for a quick burst of speed if need be.

 **Semblance:** Lightning.

Khazhak's semblance allows him to generate blue lighting at will for different techniques, each technique requiring more of a charge before attacking. He can't really control the flow of the lighting unless he has his swords with him to act as conduits of sorts. What's more, some of his techniques require his blades to by in certain forms, such as the buster form of the dual spear form.

Technique 1: Lightning Slash: requires a small charge and only one sword. When swung, a crescent-moon shaped wave of lighting is released at one target.

Technique 2: Lightning Oblivion: requires at least one sword and a slightly larger charge than the first technique. Sends out several lightning bolts. Can be used against multiple targets, or focused on one.

Technique 3: Lightning Screwdriver: requires buster sword form and a larger charge than the first two. Wielded and thrown like a javelin, the blade spins and becomes a drill of lighting, used for taking out large targets.

Technique 4: Lightning Devastation: requires dual spear form and the same charge as the third technique. The dual spear is spun as the lightning charges up before it is swung, sending out a buzzsaw of lightning at one target or a group of them.

Technique 5: Lightning Breaker: requires buster sword form and a large charge. Raise high into the air and then slammed into the ground, releasing a huge explosion. Best when used on a group of enemies.

Technique 6: Lighting Tornado Crusher: Khazhak's strongest technique. Requires buster sword form and a charge larger than the fifth and sixth techniques. Wielded with both hands, the buster sword as spun once and then swung downwards, releasing a horizontal twister of lightning at the target.

Because of his semblance, Khazhak is immune to most other lightning based attacks, however he can't absorb lighting from outside sources to increase his strength, showing that his semblance does have limits. He can also use it for noncombat means, such as shorting out electronic locks.

 **Weaknesses:**

In terms of combat, Khazhak's main weakness is that he's got little experience in a long range fight, like with snipers, though his senses and experience help make up for that. Unless it's with his comrades, he has a little trouble working with others, but will try to deal with it despite his reservations if it serves a higher purpose. Any other issues he has involve noncombat instances, such as kicking a door open rather than using the door knob since he does not have that good of manners.

 **Edom Soul Reaper:**

 **Color:** Red (Edom means red)

 **Nicknames:** Reaper (what everyone calls him instead of his first name)

 **Race:** Human

 **Gender:** Male

 **Age:** 17

 **Birthday:** Unknown

 **Outfit:** black, red

 **Accessories:** Skull mask, armor

 **Handiness:** Right

 **Complexion:** Very Pale (mostly because of the mask)

 **Height:** 5'9"

 **Hair color:** bald

 **Eye color:** red

 **Aura color:** red

 **Semblance:** skull phantoms

 **Status:** Active

 **Relatives:** Unnamed father (alive), unnamed mother (deceased)

 **Personality:**

Despite his appearance, Reaper is more composed than Khazhak and more level-headed, sometimes acting as his advisor if necessary. No one aside from his comrades can tell what he is thinking because of his mask. He is mature and sounds wise most of the time, though he doesn't really possess a sense of humor. Like Khazhak, he too wants to protect the weak, but it mainly revolves his desire for them to be free from the fear of the dark forces of Remnant. He respects Khazhak a great deal, and willingly follows his orders without question. He is also more adept at socializing than Khazhak or Porphyrius, able to hold a conversation with other people. He can give good advice to people when he needs to. He considers himself a reaper of fear, using fear as a weapon against his enemies. This also causes him some annoyance since his semblance (which uses fear) has no effect against Grimm or machines. Like Khazhak, he values honor, but also understands that reality can be a cruel mistress. He is very protective of his mask and prefers to keep it on at all times, even when sleeping. He doesn't feel comfortable talking about why he wears it, nor does he like the idea of showing his real face to anyone except his comrades.

 **Powers and Abilities:**

Reaper serves as the support of the team since he doesn't possess Lloyd's strength, or Khazhak's level of skill. However, he is very skilled with his twin-scythe and quite adept at close combat. If needed and if able, he'll use his semblance to disorientate his enemies, knocking out their formation and strategies, allowing his allies to move in and attack. As Khazhak's advisor, he is an excellent strategist, coming up with most of the team's strategies with Khazhak prior to a fight, or beating people in strategy games with ease. His skills are self-taught, though he doesn't have that much skill in hand-to-hand combat, preferring to fight with his weapon.

 **Weapon:** Fear Ripper

A twin scythe that can separate into a pair of smaller scythes for surprise attacks. A hidden function in the weapon is that at each end of the staff is a hidden knife attached to a thin chain, allowing Reaper to either tie up his opponents, throw off their movements, or even strike at two targets and then twirl the weapon around while using the two bound targets as wrecking balls (as long as Reaper can lift them). This allows Reaper to fight effectively at any range, though he usually uses it for ambush tactics. Aside from that, it possesses no other ranged weapons.

 **Semblance:** Skull Phantoms

Reaper can release up to a few body sized red skull phantoms from his weapon or hands. The skulls don't possess a fully physical form, almost ghost like. When releases, Reaper has to focus on a specific target or targets and the phantoms will fly at those targets. When they connect with their targets, the skulls have an effect that increases a person's sense of fear, even more so if more than one phantom hits the same target. This messes with their minds and concentration, making it an excellent means of throwing off their formation. However, this only works on targets that possess a sense of fear, so robots and Grimm are immune (well, Grimm only fear the Silver Eyes). What's more, the phantoms can only last for a few short moments, so they must hit their target quickly before they disappear.

 **Weaknesses:**

Reaper does not possess the physical strength that people like Lloyd and Khazhak possess. He also does not possess their level of endurance, and thus stays in the support role while they fight up front. While he is skilled with his weapon, he is not as experienced in unarmed combat, leaving him at a disadvantage.

 **Porphyrius Darkwing:**

 **Color:** Purple (Porphyrius means purple)

 **Nickname:** none

 **Race:** Half-human, half-Faunus

 **Gender:** Male

 **Age:** 17

 **Birthday:** Unknown

 **Outfit:** Black, purple

 **Accessories:** signature eye patch

 **Handiness:** Right

 **Complexion:** Fair

 **Height:** 5'8"

 **Hair color:** black

 **Eye color:** purple

 **Aura color:** purple

 **Semblance:** Gravity weights

 **Status:** Active

 **Relatives:** Unnamed father (deceased), unnamed mother (deceased)

 **Personality:**

Porphyrius has some anger issues, mostly due to events from his past, but has been trying to get a better handling on them, though sometimes that does not always work out well. However, he doesn't feel ashamed of being a half-Faunus, and makes no real attempt to hide it, despite the issues it may cause. He doesn't really trust anyone except for Khazhak and his comrades. Much like Khazhak, he hates cowardice, but makes it more known than Khazhak. He also speaks his mind, regardless of what it is. He has a huge distrust of people from Atlas, mainly from the Altas Military and from the Schnee family because of what happened to him in the past. While not as mature as Khazhak or Reaper, he still knows that sometimes he has to look at the bigger picture. Like Reaper, he is incredibly loyal to Khazhak, since he was the first person to accept him after his parents died, and will follow his orders, even if he may not exactly agree with them. Not much of the social type, Porphyrius doesn't talk much unless he feels he has something to say. However, he will always be there to back up those he considers his friends.

 **Powers and Abilities:**

Porphyrius is the fastest and the most agile member of Khazhak's group. Combining that with his weapon's ranged capabilities, he is the second most skilled fighter on the team, aside from Khazhak. Even though he only has one eye, his uses the full auto function of his guns to make up for that, choosing to riddle his targets with bullets rather than aim for any specific point. However, that doesn't mean he's a bad shot, just that he's not the best shot. When in close range, he uses the blades of his weapon with deadly efficiency. Much like Reaper, he doesn't have the physical strength and endurance that Khazhak and Lloyd possess, but he has greater stamina than Reaper. Because of his Faunus heritage, Porphyrius' senses are better than his comrades, making him their tracker, and hard to get the drop on him. Porphyrius acts as the field controller for the team, since he can fight effectively at close and medium range.

 **Weapon:** Heavy Burden

Heavy Burden is a backpack weapon equipped with a pair of extendable arms that attach to Porphyrius' arms when activated. Each arm is equipped with a full auto rifle and a blade for different combat situations. Since the backpack is a weapon of metal, it also doubles as a shield on Porphyrius' back. Despite the design, Porphyrius has little trouble moving and fighting the way he does when he wears it. Ammo clips for the rifles are held inside the backpack, and when he needs to reload, Porphyrius has the arms pull back into the backpack to reload. The rifles also act as a focus for Porphyrius' semblance.

 **Semblance:** Gravity weights

Porphyrius' semblance allows him to create gravity weights that he can use against his targets. He focuses a small field of controlled gravity into his rifles, using bullets as vessels of sorts for transport. When the gravity rounds are fired and hit a target, they expand into spherical weights that weigh down a target, making it harder for them to fight. However, he can't fire too many at once, and the weights only last for a short moment. As such, he usually fires only a few at a time in a semi-auto fashion.

 **Weaknesses:**

Porphyrius's skills and abilities make it hard to push him into a corner. However, when he has to reload his rifles, that does leave him vulnerable to a counterattack. He also can't push back against someone stronger than him, so when that occurs, he tends to refrain from head-on combat.

 **Lloyd Jyousai:**

 **Color:** Grey (name means "grey fortress")

 **Nickname:** 86 (former designation)

 **Race:** Human

 **Gender:** Male

 **Age:** 17

 **Birthday:** Unknown

 **Outfit:** Black, grey

 **Accessories:** none

 **Handiness:** Right

 **Complexion:** Fair

 **Height:** 5'8"

 **Hair color:** Grey

 **Eye color:** Grey

 **Aura color:** Grey

 **Semblance:** Steel skin

 **Status:** Active

 **Relatives:** Unnamed father (unknown), unnamed mother (unknown), unknown siblings (unknown), Khazhak Rairyu (Sworn Brother)

 **Personality:**

Lloyd is probably the least mature of Khazhak's group, despite his past, though there is a reason for this. Seeing as how the rest of the group have been through Hell, including himself, Lloyd took it upon himself to try to smile for them since they can't. Because of this, he has developed a sense of humor (sort of), which sometimes annoys the rest of the group. He likes to have a good laugh sometimes, but when he needs to, he can get serious. He loves a good fight and can get a little crazy when in a fight, though the group can't decide if this is because of his personality, or because of his time at "the base" (Grey prologue). Out of all the members of the group, Lloyd is by far the most loyal to Khazhak, even going as far as to swear an oath of brotherhood to him; always addressing him as "Brother". He is the most sociable and easiest to talk to in Khazhak's group, though he still has reservations about talking about his past, like the rest of the team. He has an intense hatred of the Atlas military because of his past, but will listen to Khazhak if he tells him to refrain from attacking anyone from the Atlas military.

 **Powers and Abilities:**

Lloyd has the most raw power, stamina, and physical strength in Khazhak's group, and thus he acts as the team's shield. Thanks to his strength and semblance, he can take a pounding and still dish it out. He's not the fastest or the most skilled in the group, but his defensive skills are superb. He often works in tandem with Porphyrius utilizing the guns of their weapons for ranged attacks, or with Khazhak in a close range fight. Either way, he's usually backing one of his comrades' backs when he's not fighting up front. Lloyd will use his superior strength to crush his opponents, and sometimes will only use his semblance to block attacks and just charge right in to attack his foes.

 **Weapon:** Steel Fangs

Lloyd's weapon, Steel Fangs, are a pair of gauntlets equipped with a pair of small gun mechanisms, and extendable claw blades. The rounds are held in a rotary chamber in each gauntlet, and Lloyd has to raise his palms up and flex his fingers to fire off his shots. They have a little kick, but not much, and it doesn't really affect Lloyd. Combining the claw blades with Lloyd's strength allows him to use his weapons to rip opponents apart, or to simply crush them.

 **Semblance:** Steel Skin

Lloyd's semblance allows him to encase any part of his body in a strong skin-like steel armor. This effectively grants him incredible defensive strength, and thus puts less stress on maintaining his aura for defense. However, the more of his body he covers up, the less time he can hold it up because it slowly drains his aura. When fully armored, he can only hold it up for a few short minutes. He can also use the armor to increase the impact and power of his attacks, such as with his punches.

 **Weaknesses:**

Lloyd does not have the speed and agility of Porphyrius or Reaper, and when he is fully armored by his semblance, his speed may decrease a little more. Despite his skills with his claws, he doesn't possess the close combat experience that Khazhak has with his swords.

* * *

 **And that's the character profile chapter. Couldn't put every little detail about them in there since this is just the beginning, and because that it too much for one chapter in my mind. It may seem off at some points, but this is how I imagined them. Anyway, the next chapter is the beginning of the story. This story will follow closely with the RWBY plotline, though with a few differences. Until then, please Read and Review.**


	6. Chapter 1: Blue meets Red

**Here we are at the first chapter of my story. Again, this will be a strong canon story, though of course with a few differences. I'm partial to details, so there will be a lot of detail work within the first set of chapter revolving around Volume 1 of RWBY. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 1. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Blue meets Red**

 _A few years later later…_

… _Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts of a forgotten past. Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful. But he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction: the Creatures of Grimm, set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed, and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man's brief existence to the void. However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change. And in time, man's passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named: Dust. Nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in shadow's absence came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life. But even the most brilliant of lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone, darkness will return. So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called free world, but take heed. There will be no victory in strength…_

… _But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten-things that require a smaller, more honest soul…and one to guard that smaller soul…_

It was the late evening in the kingdom of Vale, when most people had already left for their homes or their night jobs while others roamed the streets. The various shops and buildings were mostly closed with only a few still open at a time like this. On the street, four young men could be seen walking down the streets, all with a single goal in mind. The leader, Khazhak Rairyu, looks to his teammates.

"Alright guys, the information we gathered from that intelligence broker says that career criminal Roman Torchwick was sighted in this city a few days ago after robbing a dust shop. It is likely that he may still be in the area," He says before turning to look at his teammates. "We need to split up and cover more ground while gathering more information on his whereabouts. Reaper, you head east and check the other shopping districts. Porphyrius, I want you to had west along the rooftops and see what you can find. Lloyd, head south and recon the area for any suspicious activity. I will continue north. Keep in constant communication in case something comes up. If you see anything, relay it to the others along with your current location," he says.

After giving his orders, Khazhak watches as his comrades go in their designated directions before he continues on his own path. Walking through the streets of the city, Khazhak notices a shop with a sign that says "From Dust 'til Dawn" on it.

" _A dust shop. Well reports indicate that dust shop robberies have been on the rise lately. If I wait there for a while, I might get lucky and my prey will come to me,"_ Khazhak thinks before heading inside the shop.

The door chimes as he comes in, nodding to the old cashier at the counter before heading to the back of the store, towards a display of dust crystals hanging on the wall. He looks over to his right when he hears music being played and sees a young girl. The girl is wearing a red cloak with a hood covering her head and most of her face, along with a metal contraption under the cloak. She is dressed in a black blouse, a black waist cincher with red lacing and a black skirt with red trimmings. She has cross shaped pins holding her cloak to her shirt. Around her waist is a belt holding large cartridges in individual loops and a magazine pouch. Finally, she has a silver rose emblem on the belt and is wearing black leggings and black boots with red laces. The music appears to be from a pair of red headphones she is most likely wearing on her head.

She is reading a weapons magazine while listening to a song being played on her headphones. Khazhak looks on for another moment before hearing the door chime again and looks behind him to see a group of men wearing similar outfits: black clothing with red ties, wearing sunglasses and bowler hats. However, the one that catches his attention is the man standing in front of the others wearing a different outfit, a man Khazhak recognized as Roman Torchwick. He has slanted, dark green eyes and bright orange hair covering his right eye. He is wearing a black bowler hat with a red band and a small feather, and wears black eyeliner. He is dressed in a red-lined white suit and a small gray scarf along with black gloves with rounded sleeves, and black pants and black shoes.

" _Well, well, well. Ask and ye shall receive,"_ Khazhak thinks before turning around to hide his face, and moving further back to see how this plays out.

The men come up to the front desk before Roman takes out his cigar and eyed the cashier.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a dust shop opened this late," as he speaks, one of his men raised a pistol at the cashier, causing him to raise his hands in fear.

"Please, just take my lien and leave," the old man says fearfully.

"Sshhh. Calm down, we're not here for your money… Grab the dust." His men start taking dust from the dispensers while another has the cashier load dust crystals into a suitcase.

"Crystals. Burnt, uncut," the goon said as he was loading it up.

Another henchmen is about to start unloading another dispenser before he hears music and notices the girl with the red hood by the magazines. He takes out a red sword before pointing it at the girl.

"Alright kid, hands where I can see them," but the girl never noticed. "Hey, I said hands in the air now! You got a death wish or something?" he says as he walks behind her and grabs her shoulder.

The girl's hood comes down, revealing a pale face with silver eyes and short black hair with red tips, looking at the criminal.

"Huh?" she says as he points his finger at his ears, signifying her about the headphones. The girl takes them off before speaking.

"Yes?" she asks.

"I said put your hands in the air, now!" the thug angrily replies.

"Are… you robbing me?" she questions him.

"Yes!" he yells back.

"Ohhhh," the girl says while smirking. Before the thug can see it coming, he is kicked by the girl to the front of the store. Khazhak looks over at the damage.

" _Huh, good answer,"_ he thinks before continuing to watch the events as they unfold.

Meanwhile, Roman nods with his head to another henchman to go after the girl. He runs up to her and points a gun at her.

"Freeze!" he says.

A moment later, the man is kicked out of the store through the window with the girl using him as a board. All the other goons look out to see the girl stand in the street as the metal object changes form, extending into a red sniper-scythe. Khazhak takes note of the weapon's design from behind the men.

" _Interesting design. However, does this girl know how to use such an advanced weapon?"_ he mentally notes while grasping the handles of his swords, preparing to join the party.

Meanwhile, Roman looks on as the girl looks back at him before swinging her scythe in a circular motion before impaling the blade into the ground, simultaneously taking off and shutting off her headphones.

"Okay. Get her," Roman orders his men.

The crooks run out of the store towards the girl. One of them takes a swing with his sword, but the girl dodges it and swings her body around on her scythe and then lands a double kick to the thug's face, knocking him out. The next man attacks her from behind, but she pulls a trigger on her weapon, firing from the sniper barrel and spinning her around as one end of her weapon collides with her opponent. After the spin, she raises her weapon before slamming the back end of the blade onto third criminal, taking him down. One more thug comes out and starts firing his gun at her. However, the girl fires her weapon behind her to avoid the shots before shooting over and sweeping her opponent from under his feet. She shoves her blade into the ground, stopping her before spinning around and slamming her weapon into her opponent, knocking him out. As she lands, three more goons come at her from behind, one raising his sword to attack her. Before the sword can connect though, it is stopped by a large, serrated blade with a blue lightning bolt on it.

"That's no way to treat a lady," Khazhak says before raising his sword to push back his opponent.

Khazhak then roundhouse kicks his first opponent in the gut, sending him flying. Next, he strikes down on one opponent with his right sword before attacking the opponent's legs with his left, sending him off his feet before performing a spinning slash attack and taking him down. The third henchman comes at him, but Khazhak simply aims his swords and fires his guns, hitting his opponent and sending him to the ground in front of Torchwick. Khazhak then looks over to the girl in the red hood.

"Is this a private fight, or can anyone mix in?" he says.

The girl smiles and nods before they both look over to Roman who was looking down at one of his unconscious henchman.

"You were worth every cent. Truly, you were. Well red and blue, I think I can say that this has been an eventful evening. And as much as I would love to stick around," he says as he raises his cane, pointing the end at them, "I'm afraid this…is where we part ways," he says as a reticle flips up on the end of the cane and he fires a shot at the duo.

The girl points her scythe down and fires, sending her over the round while Khazhak simply jumps to his left to avoid the hit. When they both land and regain their bearings, they look to see Roman gone. They search for him before noticing him climbing up a ladder on a nearby building. The girl looks over to the cashier of the dust shop as he comes out of the building.

"You okay if we go after him?" she asks.

The cashier nods, and the girl runs off after him while Khazhak pulls out his scroll.

"Guys, rally to my position. I found Torchwick," Khazhak speaks on his scroll to his team before joining up with the young girl.

When they reach the building, they fire their weapons below them to propel them onto the roof of the building.

"Where do you think you're going, Torchwick?" Khazhak calls out.

"Persistent," he says as a bullhead ship comes up from behind the building and Roman gets onboard and looks over at them.

"End of the line red and blue!" he yells and then throws a red dust crystal at their feet before firing off his cane at them.

Khazhak runs over to shield the girl with his body as the blast connects. Roman screams with joy, but as the smoke clears he notices that not only are the two kids okay, but they have a third person with them. This new player is a middle-aged woman with light blonde hair tied into a bun, with a curl hanging down the right side of her face. She is wearing thin, ovular glasses over bright, green eyes. She has teal hanging earrings with a small bead identical to her earrings on her collar. Her outfit consists of a white long-sleeved suit that exposes part of her chest, and puffy sleeves that tighten near the wrist before spreading back out near her hands. Her lower body has a black business skirt with buttons running in a vertical line up the front of it and lighter black-brown stockings. She is wearing black boots with brown heels, and wears a tattered cape that is purple inside and black outside, decorated by a row of diamond-shaped brown beads going horizontally across her cape. Above the line beads is an emblem of a tiara. She is holding in her right hand a riding crop.

In front of the trio was a purple circular glyph of some kind, acting as a shield for them. The woman fixed her glasses before sending a series of purple blasts at the ship, hitting its side. Roman struggled to keep his balance on the ship before heading up to the cockpit. When he reached the cockpit, he spoke to the pilot.

"We've got a huntress!" he says as the pilot lets him take over before heading to the back of the ship.

After the first assault, the blonde-haired women launched another purple energy bolt over the ship, which started to form a cloud. The woman lowers her crop as the cloud starts to rain down icicle shards at the ship, but they have little effect. Khazhak looks into the side of the ship to see what appears to be a woman wearing glass heels and a red dress, but her face is masked by the shadows in the ship. The mysterious women launches bolts of fire at the trio, which the blonde women blocks with a shield. The fire splatters onto the roof before the woman raises her hands, causing explosions to occur where they landed. The trio avoid the attack and Khazhak readies his right sword, lighting sparking around the blade.

"LIGHTNING SLASH!" he yells as he spins his body before doing a downward slash, sending a crescent-moon shaped wave of lightning at the ship.

The woman stops the attack by releasing more fire shots. Khazhak looks over to the older woman next to him and sees her take control of the debris from the previous attack, turning it into a spear, and launching it at the ship. The red-dressed woman fires more bolts, destroying the projectile before it hits. The blonde woman reconfigures the attack and launches it again, but the ship turns into the attack, deflecting it. The blonde woman takes the remains of the spear and turns them into three separate projectiles aiming at the ship. Khazhak joins in with another attack, only this one is different. His left blade charged with lightning energy, poised for an attack.

"LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" he yells as he swings his left blade, sending multiple lightning bolts at his target.

The woman in the ship notices the combined assault before releasing a powerful wave of fire that destroys the attacks. Khazhak then looks over to the young girl in the red hood.

"Care to join in, little rose?" Khazhak says as he points his swords at the woman.

The girl retracts he scythe to a smaller form before aiming it and firing at the woman in the ship while Khazhak fires the guns in his swords. The red-dressed woman raises her left hand and blocks the shots before waving her right hand, creating more explosion circles beneath the trio's feet. Khazhak reacts in time and jumps out of the way while the blonde woman uses her power to move the young girl out of the way and then flips away from the explosions. The blonde woman looks up to see the side door of the ship close as the bullhead ship flies away from them into the night. Khazhak retracts his swords to their non-combat forms and hooks them back onto his belt as he looks up at the fleeing ship.

 _"Damn. Just when I finally found him too. Although it appears that the woman in the ship may be far more dangerous than him with all that power,"_ he thinks to himself before turning around to notice his teammates finally arriving on the scene.

"Took you guys long enough," he says while crossing his arms.

"Sorry Khazhak. It took us while to get to you. We were all on the far sides of the city when we got your call," Reaper says in his robot-like voice as they walk to him, "Roman got away?"

"Yes, but he had help from some woman with powerful fire-based attacks. This could present an even bigger problem in the future. She was able to hold me off even with the help from those two women over there," he says while pointing his thumb over at the two women nearby.

"Who are they? The older woman appears to be a huntress while the younger girl seems to be just some kid with a gun," Porphyrius says as they listen in on their conversation.

"You're a huntress," the younger girl in red says to the older woman, "Can I have your autograph?!" She asks with a big, smiling face while holding her hands in front of her chest.

 _"This won't end well,"_ Khazhak thinks as he shakes his head while watching them.

 _Later that night…_

" _How the Hell did we all end up here?"_ Khazhak wonders to himself while he, his teammates, and the young girl all sit in an interrogation room of a police station while the older blonde woman, who earlier said her name is Glynda Goodwitch, interrogates them.

"I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly young lady. You put yourself, and others in great danger," Goodwitch says to the young, red-cloaked girl.

"They started it!" the girl replies.

"And you," Goodwitch says as she looks at Khazhak, "You could have simply called the police, but instead chose to rush into a dangerous situation and risking your life."

"Hah. It's going to take a lot more than that to kill me, lady," Khazhak replies, feeling insulted that she would see him as a normal civilian.

"If it were up to me, you would be sent home. With a pat on the back…" Goodwitch says as the young girl smiles at the comment.

 _"Wait for it,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself.

"…And a slap on the wrist," she says as she slams her riding crop on the table in the room, causing the young girl to flinch back while Khazhak and his team make no movements.

"But, there is someone here who would like to meet you," she says as she walks out of the way of the doorway.

A man steps forward from the darkened doorway carrying a coffee mug in one hand, and a plate of chocolate chip cookies in the other. The man is a middle-aged man with tousle gray hair, black eyebrows, and thin brown eyes. He has a light complexion and sharp facial features. He is wearing shaded glass spectacles and a dark-green scarf with a small, purple, cross-shaped emblem on it. He is also wearing an unzipped black suit over a buttoned vest and green undershirt along with black trouser shoes and long, dark-green pants.

"Ruby Rose, you…" the man says her name as he looks her in the eye, "have silver eyes," he says out of nowhere.

"U-um…" the girl, now known as Ruby Rose replies, feeling awkward.

"*Cough* weirdo *cough*," Lloyd coughs quietly in a fake cough, earning him an elbow to the ribs by Porphyrius.

"So where did you learn to do this?" the old man asks while Goodwitch shows a video recording of Ruby fighting the criminals from earlier.

 _"When did that fight get recorded?"_ Khazhak mentally asks himself.

"S-Signal Academy," Ruby nervously answers, making Khazhak glance at her.

"They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?" The man further questions Ruby.

"Well, one teacher in particular," she replies.

"I see," the old man says before placing the plate of cookies on the table for young ones to eat.

Ruby hesitantly takes one and eats it whole before beginning to gobble up the others, along with Lloyd and Porphyrius who try to take one before she eats them all. Ruby then remembers Khazhak and offers him one, but he refuses along with Reaper who keeps his mask on.

"It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow…" he says while looking up at the ceiling.

"Mmm, Thash mu unkul," the girl says while her mouth is full of cookies, earning her a somewhat displeasing look from the old man.

Ruby swallows her food before speaking again, "Sorry, that's my Uncle Qrow. He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing. Now, I'm all like waaaa…watchaaa…hooouu," Ruby says and starts making martial arts sounds and doing karate chops in her seat. Lloyd starts snickering at her actions while Porphyrius rolls his eye and Khazhak and Reaper remain motionless while staring at her.

"So I've noticed," the old man says before looking over to Khazhak and his group.

"And you, we could find no information on you. So, we would like to first know your name and where you learned to use these unique abilities," he asks Khazhak while showing the video again, only focusing on him with his combat skills and his lightning attacks this time.

"My name is Khazhak Rairyu. These guys are Edom Soul Reaper, Porphyrius Darkwing, and Lloyd Jyousai; we work together as a group, though we are not an official team. As for my combat skills, my father, who was a huntsman, taught me before I started teaching myself," Khazhak answers him.

"Well your training seems to have taken you far. And what about your teammates. Do they have any unique skills?" he asks.

"Their skills they learned themselves. And believe me, they are not to be underestimated," Khazhak says while eyeing the old man.

The old man nods and then turns back to Ruby, "Back to you. Why would an adorable girl such as yourself be at a school designed to train warriors?" he asks her.

"Well, I want to be a huntress," she replies.

"You want to slay monsters?" the old man asks, intrigued.

"Yeah. I only have two more years of training left at Signal, and then I'm going to apply to Beacon. You see, my sister's starting there this year and she's trying to become a huntress and I'm trying to become a huntress 'cuz I want to help people. My parents always taught us to help others so I thought, 'Uh you know, might as well make a career out of it' heh. I mean the police are alright, but huntsmen and huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool, just-just gosh-uh-you know," the girl replies, her speech becoming faster and more energetic with each passing word.

Everyone in the room stare at her with their own expressions before the conversation continues.

"Do you know who I am?" the old man asks.

"You're Professor Ozpin. You're the headmaster of Beacon," Ruby answers more calmly.

 _"So he's Professor Ozpin, huh. Why would the headmaster of Beacon be here?"_ Khazhak wonders.

"Hm. Hello," the man, now known as Professor Ozpin greets her.

"Nice to meet you," Ruby responds politely.

"You want to come to my school?" Professor Ozpin asks Ruby.

"More than anything," she replies without hesitation.

Ozpin looks over to Goodwitch who just rolls her eyes and grunts before looking over to Khazhak's group.

"And what about you four? Would you like to join my school as well?" he asks them.

Khazhak looks over to his teammates, "Well, what do you think guys? You all have your own choice of whether or not you want to go," he says.

"Wherever you go, we go Khazhak," Reaper says first.

"Agreed. Besides this would give us access to their library and databases. Not to mention a decent place to crash for a while during our time here in Vale," Porphyrius answers next.

"Yeah, brother, we stick together. Plus, we get a chance to fight against strong fighters, I've been dying for a challenge," Lloyd answers last while clasping his hands together.

Khazhak nods to them before turning to Ozpin, "Very well, we accept your offer. On one condition," he points out.

"And that would be?" Ozpin asks.

"Your school has uniforms for the students to wear, correct?" Khazhak asks.

"Yes," Ozpin replies.

"We don't do school uniforms. We will join your academy, but only if we do not have to wear those stupid uniforms," Khazhak says while crossing his arms.

Ozpin looks at all of the teenagers before answering, "Very well. Welcome to Beacon."

Ruby smiles while Khazhak simply nods to Ozpin. After that, the kids are allowed to leave while the adults stay behind for a moment. Goodwitch looks over to Ozpin.

"Are you sure it is wise to allow them to enroll in the school Professor? I mean, the girl is two years too early, and we know nothing about those four boys that were with her," she points out.

"I am quite aware, but I have made my choice. That girl shows skills and potential far beyond what she may learn at Signal. And as for those boys…" Ozpin drifts off.

"Professor Ozpin?" Goodwitch questions him worriedly.

"I could see it in their eyes. Those four boys, especially Khazhak, have seen nothing but darkness and death. They have been put through one Hell after another, and have forever remained in that darkness. I want to offer them the chance to finally grow beyond that darkness, so that they can finally live in the light like the rest of us," he answers her before leaving himself.

Meanwhile, Khazhak and his group leave the station, parting ways with Ruby, as they head in their own direction. All the while, Khazhak has a few thoughts on his mind.

 _"Beacon, huh. Well, my father did want me to go to an academy to become an official huntsman. Guess there's no time like the present,"_ he thinks and then glances back at Ruby Rose as she walks in the opposite direction. _"Hmm…Ruby Rose, huh…"_

 _The next day…_

Khazhak and his team are on board an airship heading for Beacon Academy on the outskirts of the city. They can see other first year students scattered throughout the ship, but pay them no mind and just walk through the ship.

"Well I certainly didn't expect us to suddenly become students in a school, even if it is one designed to train warriors to fight monsters," Porphyrius says while eyeing some of the other students, causing those that meet his gaze to pull back immediately out of fear from him.

"Porphyrius, please do not try to scare the other initiates here. They will be our fellow classmates, and I believe it would be best to make more friends than enemies during our stay here," Reaper says to him while walking beside Khazhak.

"Yeah, man. Besides, I don't need you scaring all of the babes away before I have a chance to talk to them," Lloyd says while checking out some of the beautiful young women hoping to become huntresses here.

Porphyrius looks at them about to retort before Khazhak beats him to the punch.

"Enough. While I myself may not be fully keen on the idea of being students and following other people's orders, that does not change our present situation. We are about to become students at Beacon, so we'll just have to deal with it. Besides, this opportunity will present a number of benefits for us while we are here. Let's just make the best of it," Khazhak says.

As they continue walking through the ship, Khazhak notices the girl from the other night, Ruby Rose, talking with another young woman. This young woman appears to be two years older than Ruby and has long blonde hair that goes to her waist. Her attire consists of a tan vest with gold piping over a yellow low-cut crop top with a black crest that resembles a burning heart. The vest has puffy cap sleeves with black cuffs. On the sides of the cuffs, there are two small golden buttons. She is also wearing a brown belt with a buckle, a pouch, and a small banner-like object. The same burning heart crest appears on this banner, except golden in color. She is wearing black short shorts under her belt, which resembles a pleaded skirt in the back. Over the short shorts, but under the belt is a white asymmetrical back skirt.

Aside from an orange infinity scarf around her neck, she has no discernable jewelry. She is wearing brown knee-high platform boots that appear bot be made of leather, with orange socks of different lengths. Her left leg has a gray bandanna-like object wrapped around the top of her boot. She is also wearing black, fingerless gloves underneath large yellow mechanized bracelets, most likely her weapons in their compact form. Her long blonde hair becomes lighter at the tips and flows in a loose and messy manner, with a few locks sticking out and a small cowlick on top of her head. She has a pale complexion and lilac eyes and has an impressive breast size. Khazhak walks over close enough to overhear their conversation.

"Ohhh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" the blonde girl excitedly says while she puts the younger girl in a crushing and unpleasant bear hug if Ruby's pained face is any indication.

"Please stop," Ruby begs while trying to breathe in the other girl's bear hug.

"But I'm so proud of you!" the older girl says while releasing Ruby.

"Really sis, it was nothing," Ruby says.

"What do you mean? It was incredible. Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're the bee's knees," The blonde girl says with much vigor.

"Look I don't want to be the bee's knees, okay. I don't want to be any kind of knees. I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees," Ruby says with a frown on her face.

"What's with you? Aren't you excited?" the blonde girl asks Ruby.

"Of course I'm excited, I just…I got moved ahead two years. I don't want people to think I'm special or anything," Ruby says tilting her head forward slightly.

The blonde girl comes forward and wraps one arm around Ruby's shoulders in support, "But you are special," she says trying to get her to think differently.

"You might as well accept it. After all it isn't often that one gets placed into such a prestigious school two years early," Khazhak says as he walks over and joins in the conversation.

"Hey, you're that guy from before that helped me against those thugs from the other night. Khazhak, right?" Ruby says while the blonde girl looks over Khazhak with a slight glint in her eye and a smile on her face.

"Yes, that is me. I see you two know each other," Khazhak replies.

"Yes, Khazhak, this is my older sister, Yang Xiao Long. Yang, this is Khazhak Rairyu. I told you about him and how he helped me out the other night," Ruby introduces the two.

"Ah, so you're the hero that saved my sister. Thank you for keeping her from getting into more trouble," the girl, now known as Yang, says while staring up and down at Khazhak.

"Yang, I did not get into trouble, and stop embarrassing me!" Ruby yells at her sister.

"What? I was just offering my gratitude to the hero who saved my sister," Yang says while glancing at Khazhak. By this point, the rest of Khazhak's team join up with them.

"Woooh, I never pegged you for the ladiesman with these two gorgeous gals, brother," Lloyd says before Khazhak elbows him in the chest to get him to shut up.

His comment causes Ruby to blush while Yang just smiles at them.

"Never mind him. He's always been like that. These are my teammates: the one in the mask is Edom Soul Reaper, the dark and mysterious one is Porphyrius Darkwing, and the idiot next to me is Lloyd Jyousai," Khazhak introduces his team to Yang.

"Nice to meet yah. I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister," Yang says before Ruby joins in.

"Hey, Khazhak. Can I ask you a question?" Ruby asks him.

"What is it?" he inquires.

"The other night, when you called me 'little rose'. Why did you call me that?" She asks him.

"Because of the rose symbol on your belt," Khazhak bluntly says while pointing as Ruby's emblem.

Ruby slightly blushes at this out of embarrassment at not thinking of that before they all turned to a news broadcast being shown on the ship, showing a mugshot of Roman Torchwick.

"The robbery was led my nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you Lisa."

"That you, Cyril. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus civil rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted…" the broadcast cuts off as a hologram of Glynda Goodwitch takes its place.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon." The hologram says.

"Who's that?" Yang questions.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch," the hologram continues.

"Oh," Yang says after getting her answer.

"You are among the privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsmen and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task. And now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world," she finishes before disappearing.

"Oh wow!" Ruby says as she and other students approach the windows of the airship while it flies over Vale as it heads to Beacon. "Look, you can see Signal from up here… I guess home isn't too far after all."

"Beacon's our home now," Yang says as she wraps an arm around Ruby's shoulders.

"Guys, today begins a new mission for us. The mission of becoming official huntsmen," Khazhak says as they join the two girls, but then all turn to their left when they notice one blonde-haired boy who looks like he's about to puke his lunch out and runs by them.

"Well, I guess the view isn't for everyone," Yang says.

"It was a nice moment while it lasted," Ruby replies.

"I wonder who else we're going to meet besides Khazhak and his gang," Yang wonders.

"Oh, I just hope their better than Vomit boy," Ruby mentions.

Khazhak looks down at Yang's shoes after smelling something bad. He and his team step back from the two girls. Ruby notices and looks down as well.

"Oh Yang, gross! You have puke on your shoe!" Ruby says.

"Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross!" Yang freaks out and starts running towards Ruby who quickly retreats away from her.

"Get away, oh! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me! Get away from me!" Ruby yells while running away from Yang.

"Well this should prove to be an interesting few years for us," Reaper says as he and the others watch one sister chase after the other.

 _"And so it begins…"_ Khazhak thinks to himself as the ship approaches the cliffs of Beacon Academy.

* * *

 **And that's the first chapter. The chapter lengths will vary depending on the chapters and any other stuff I write into them. I hope that works for you guys. So, Khazhak has met Ruby and now he and his team will start their new lives at Beacon. What trials await them in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	7. Chapter 2: Welcome to Beacon

**Here we are at Chapter 2. Let the first day at Beacon begin. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 2. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Welcome to Beacon**

The large, four-winged airship approaches the cliffs in front of Beacon Academy where a set of landing platforms are waiting for them. When the ships land and open their doors, the passengers walk off towards the academy. Among the first ones off is the boy from earlier with the stomach issues. He finds the nearest trash can and upchucks his lunch into the container while other people walk on by in order to not get any vomit on them. Khazhak, his team, and Ruby and Yang come off the ship and approach the courtyard of Beacon Academy. Ruby and Yang stand in front of the academy and take in the fantastic site that is their new home.

"Wow," they both say as they look up at the academy.

"I must admit, it is a rather imposing site to behold," Reaper says as he takes in the site himself.

Khazhak just grunts, not feeling that impressed. New students approach the school through a long-wide avenue leading up to the main academy buildings. In front of the school is a large courtyard with various walkways, surrounded by a double ring of colonnades bisecting the main avenue with the outer ring rising high over the main entrance to the academy. The avenue is marked with trees, flag-draped light-poles, and impressive aqueduct-like features and archways. In front of the entrance to the main amphitheater is a large statue and fountain of a huntsman and huntress standing atop a rock, beneath which a Beowolf cowers.

"The view from Vale's got nothing on this," Yang says while checking out the scenery.

"Oh, Ohhh! Sis, that kid's got a collapsible staff! Ohhhh, and she's got a firesword!" Ruby shrieks while pointing at the different weapons of other students walking by and then following one of the students, not focusing on Yang and the others or on the school in front of them.

 _"A weapon nut, huh. I guess that explains how her weapon got so overly designed so well,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself as Yang pulls Ruby back by her hood.

"Ow, oow," Ruby exclaims while being pulled back by her sister.

"Team, we need to split up and recon the area. Get a feel for the campus grounds and then we'll all meet up at the amphitheater for the scheduled introduction ceremony. Move out," Khazhak orders his team as they all nod their heads and move out in different directions while Khazhak remains with Ruby and Yang.

"Trying to get the ladies all to yourself, huh brother? You dirty dog, you-" Lloyd starts before getting punched by Khazhak, sending him flying in a random direction, hoping the girls didn't notice the exchange.

Khazhak sighs, "One of these days, I'm going to shove a sword down his throat," he says while shaking his head before turning back to the sisters' conversation.

"Easy there little sister, they're just weapons," Yang says to Ruby.

"Just weapons?! They're an extension of ourselves! They're a part of us! Oh, they're so cool," Ruby exclaims while admiring the weapons of the other students.

"Well, why can't you swoon over your own weapon? Aren't you happy with it?" Yang questions her.

Ruby takes out her weapon, extends it to its full form, and hugs it like a stuffed animal, "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose. I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, but better," Ruby says.

"Ruby, come on. Why don't you go try and make some new friends of your own?" Yang asks while pulling Ruby's hood over her head.

"But, why would I need friends when I have you and Khazhak?" Ruby questions while pulling her hood back down behind her head.

"Well, actually my friends are here now. Gotta go catchup. Kay, see ya. Bye!" Yang quickly says as some kids come up behind her and she and her gang rush out of there, spinning Ruby around while leaving her in their dust.

"Wait, where are you going? Aren't we supposed to go to our dorms? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms? Ugh, I don't know what I'm doing," Ruby asks as she begins to fall backwards. Khazhak tries to reach and grab her, but comes up short as she falls on a cart full of white suitcases.

"What are you doing?!" a female voice yells.

Ruby looks up at the owner, "Oh, sorry," she apologizes.

Khazhak takes a chance to look at the newcomer. She appears to be slightly taller than Ruby, most likely because of the white, heeled wedge boots that go to her mid-calves, while being red on the inside of the boots. She is wearing a pale blue bolero jacket over a similarly colored thigh-high dress with a piece of black lace making up the neckline of the dress. The inside of the bolero is red and the sleeves turn blue as they get closer to her wrists. The back of the bolero displays a snowflake emblem, one which Khazhak recognizes all too well.

 _"The Scheme Dust Company logo. That means she is most likely Weiss Schnee, heiress to her father's company. What the Hell is a spoiled rich-girl from Atlas like her doing here at a school in Vale designed to train warriors?"_ Khazhak thinks over while continuing to watch her.

The rest of her attire consists of an apple-shaped necklace along with a pair of thin, rectangular earrings. She has long, white hair pulled back into an off-center ponytail, at the base of which is a small tiara that resembles icicles. She has a pale complexion and ice blue eyes and bears a crooked scar down her left eye. Finally, she wears a small bag on the back of her dress, wrapped around her waist with a ribbon. On her left hip is a sword, a rapier, with what appears to be a revolver chamber with a different type of dust in each chamber. Khazhak continues to watch as the situation goes downhill fast.

"Sorry! Do you have any idea of the damage you could've caused?" the girl, now identified by Khazhak as Weiss Schnee, angrily yells at Ruby.

Ruby picks up a suitcase and hands it to Weiss, "U-uh," she stutters.

Weiss swipes the suitcase from her hands and checks the contents, "Give me that! This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee quarry."

"U-uh…" Ruby mutters, not knowing what that is.

"What are you, braindead?" Dust: fire, water, lightning, energy. Are you even listening to me? Is any of this sinking in? What do you have to say for yourself?" Weiss spitefully asks while shaking a bottle of red dust, in which the contents make contact with Ruby's nose, causing her to sniffle a bit.

"Uh-oh," Khazhak mutters while stepping backwards, away from what he knows is coming next.

"Ah-choo!" Ruby sneezes, causing an explosion from the red dust while fire, ice, and lightning can be seen in the red-colored smoke as it engulfs both Ruby and Weiss.

Luckily for Khazhak, he was a safe distance from the explosion. The vial of red dust goes flying and lands at the feet of another girl who was reading a book before looking over to the commotion.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" Weiss yells at Ruby while the younger girl points her index fingers together repeatedly.

"I'm really, really sorry," Ruby apologizes to the angry woman.

"Ugh! You complete DOLT! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" Weiss questions.

"Well, I…" Ruby begins.

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice you know. We're here to fight monsters so, watch where you're going!" Weiss yells while crossing her arms and turning her head away from Ruby.

By this point, Khazhak's patience has worn thin.

"Enough!" Khazhak angrily says while approaching the two and stepping in between Ruby and Weiss, "One, she is only young because she got accepted into this school two years early, which should speak volumes about her combat skills. And two, I would watch my tone if I were you, little girl," he warns her.

"Who do you think you are talking to me like that? Do you have any idea who I—" Before Weiss could finish, she feels a sharp piece of metal at her throat, which turns out to be one of Khazhak's swords that he pulled out, pressing it to her neck while Khazhak stares her down with a dark look in his eyes, causing the white-dressed girl to shrink back out of fear.

"I know exactly who you are, and honestly, I don't give a damn. You people from Atlas think the world revolves around you and that the rest of us should just bow down and kiss your feet. News flash: your money, your name, and your heritage mean nothing to me, princess," Khazhak says while keeping his sword at her throat.

However, they are soon interrupted by a new presence.

"It's heiress actually," a new female voice says.

The three people look over to see a new girl, the same age as Weiss and Khazhak, approach them. This girl has a light olive complexion, with long, wavy back hair, and amber eyes that are complimented by light-purple eye shadow flaring backwards. Khazhak notices that her eyes are slightly tilted upwards at the ends, giving her somewhat of a catlike appearance.

" _Catlike eyes, huh? That can only mean one thing…"_ Khazhak thinks to himself while lowering his weapon.

The new girl is wearing a black ribbon tied in a bow shape. She is wearing black low-heeled boots and stockings that start of black at her hips, but gradually fade to purple as they near her shoes. On the outside of her stockings, there are white emblems that look mostly like belladonna flowers. She is wearing black ribbons on both of her arms, with a black detached sleeve and a sliver banc on her left arm. She has on a black buttoned vest with coattails, and a white sleeveless undershirt that exposes part of her midriff with white shorts that may be connected to her shirt, although it is partly obscured by the vest. Her shorts have a zipper on the front of each leg. She is also wearing a detached scarf-like collar around her neck and has a gray magnetic plate strapped to her back like a backpack. On her back is what appears to be a black sword with a pistol mechanism in the hilt while being held in a sharpened sheath for easy carry.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world," The girl says while holding the bottle of red dust from before in her left hand.

"Finally, some recognition," Weiss says triumphantly while smiling and placing her hands on her hips and looking at Ruby and Khazhak.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners," the black-haired girl continues.

"What? How dare…The nerve of…" Weiss stutters angrily while Ruby giggles at the two and Khazhak just smirks at Weiss losing her cool.

Weiss eyes the girl before taking her vial of dust and starts walking off towards the amphitheater while some attendants take care of the rest of her luggage.

"I promise I'll make this up to you!" Ruby says while Weiss just walks away.

"Don't bother Ruby. She's just a stuck-up, spoiled, rotten brat," Khazhak says while placing his sword back on his belt.

Ruby sighs, "I guess I'm not the only one having a rough first day. So what's...?" Ruby says before turning to the other girl only to see her walk away in the opposite direction. Ruby then falls to her knees before lying back onto the ground, "Welcome to Beacon," she mutters.

"Come on, Ruby. There's no reason to be lying on the ground on your first day here because of one bad, little incident," Khazhak says while looking down at her and crossing his arms.

He then notices an arm pass by him. Ruby looks up to see who the arm belongs to.

"Hey. I'm Jaune." The person, a boy introducing himself as Jaune Arc, says while offering her a hand.

Jaune is a tall teenage boy with dark-blue eyes and messy blonde hair. He is wearing a white chestplate and shoulder armor over a black hoodie with reddish-orange sleeves and an emblem hidden underneath the chest plate. He is also wearing blue pants with a white patch on the left knee, as well as black shoes with "left" and "right" written in black on the respective shoes' soles. He has two belts crisscrossing his waist, both different shades of brown, with a pair of small pouches on them. Jaune is also wearing brown wrist-length gloves with exposed fingertips and a small metal plate on the back. On the left of his waist is a white sword holstered in a sheath.

"Ruby," Ruby introduces herself while taking his hand and letting him help her up.

"Khazhak Rairyu," Khazhak joins in. _"Isn't he the kid that puked his guts out earlier on the airship?"_ Khazhak mentally notes to himself.

Ruby snickers at realizing who Jaune is, "Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

A few minutes later, Khazhak is following Ruby and Jaune as they walk down one pathway while having a normal conversation. He is mainly along for the ride as it helps him get a layout of the school.

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on," Jaune says, trying to defend his issue with flying airships and losing his lunch.

"Look I'm sorry. Vomit boy was the first thing that came to mind," Ruby apologizes to Jaune about her nickname for him.

"Oh yeah. Well what if I called you Crater Face?" Jaune retorts.

"Hey, that explosion was an accident," Ruby quickly defends her little accident from earlier while flailing her arms up and down.

"Sure it was," Khazhak throws his comment into the mix.

"Khazhak, you're not helping!" Ruby yells at him before turning back to Jaune.

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it," Jaune says, trying to sound cool.

"Do they?" Ruby questions him, not seeming convinced.

"I doubt it," Khazhak comments.

"They will. Well, at least I hope they will. I think my mom always says uh…well never mind," Jaune says while trying to defend himself.

Ruby giggles after he says this, "Hmm. Sooo I got this thing," Ruby says while deploying her sniper-scythe and impaling it into the ground.

"Woah! Is that a scythe?" Jaune asks while he steps back from Ruby out of shock and surprise.

"It's also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle," Ruby says while showing off her weapon.

"A what?" Jaune says, having no idea what she just said.

"It's also a gun, genius," Khazhak says, while Ruby cocks her weapon for emphasis.

"Oh. Well that's cool," Jaune says, admiring the weapon.

"So what do you got?" Ruby asks.

"Oh, uh, I-I got this sword," Jaune says while pulling out his sword from its sheath.

"Oooohhh," Ruby says admiring the weapon.

Jaune pulls out the sheath and it expands into a shield, "Yeah, I've got a shield too."

"Those look like they belong in a museum," Khazhak mutters, unimpressed at the weapon's simple design, making Jaune groan a little bit.

"So what do they do?" Ruby asks while reaching for the shield.

When she touches it, the shield pops off Jaune's arm and starts jumping around, changing forms from a shield to a sheath while Jaune tries to catch it. Khazhak shakes his head at the pitiful scene.

" _And this guy's here to become a huntsman? Well looks like he won't last long,"_ Khazhak mentally notes.

"The shield gets smaller. So, when I get tired of carrying it, I can just…put it away," Jaune says after recomposing himself.

"But, wouldn't it weigh the same?" Ruby asks.

"Yeah, it does," Jaune says while lowering his head.

"Heh-heh. Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. I guess I did go a little overboard in designing it," Ruby says while running her hand over her weapon.

"Wait, you made that?" Jaune shockingly asks.

"Of course. All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn't you make yours?" Ruby asks.

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great grandfather used it to fight in the war," Jaune says while looking down and depressed a bit.

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me. Well, I like it. Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days," Ruby says trying to cheer Jaune up.

"Yeah, the classics," Jaune says.

"While I may not be one of those people that appreciate the classics, I will say this. If that sword has lasted this long, then it could probably last a little while longer," Khazhak says while looking at Jaune, "A weapon is only as strong as the one who wields it. Your great-great grandfather must have been strong during his time, making that sword strong. My advice to you Jaune is this: become stronger in order to keep that sword from breaking, and live up to your family's legacy," he instructs him.

"Yeah, I'll try," Jaune says.

"Oh! Khazhak, can I see your weapon? I never got a good look at it from the night before," Ruby begs while putting her hands together and having stars in her eyes.

Khazhak sighs, "Very well," Khazhak says before taking out his swords and deploying them, "I call them Narukami, it means 'Thunder God.' They're a pair of serrated swords with gun mechanisms on the blades. However, I have also implemented a few more features into the design in order to make them more versatile."

"Like what? Please, can you show me?!" Ruby begs with her mouth starting to drool a little bit.

"You will see in due time, little rose," Khazhak calls Ruby by his little nickname for her.

Ruby pouts at having to wait to see what else his blades can do, but accepts the statement either way.

Ruby turns back to Jaune, "So why'd you help me out back there, in the courtyard?" Ruby asks.

"Heh, why not? My mom always says that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet," Jaune says.

"Hm. Hey, where are we going?" Ruby asks.

"Oh, I don't know. I was following you," Jaune answers, not knowing where the amphitheater is. "Y-you think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some sort of recognizable landmark?" Jaune asks.

Ruby just snickers at his comments.

"Is-a, is that a no?" Jaune asks.

"That's a no," Ruby answers.

Luckily, Khazhak remembers the way to the amphitheater.

"Come on, you two. Follow me, I know the way," Khazhak sighs while taking the lead and then they all walk back to the amphitheater.

" _From warrior to babysitter. My, how the mighty have fallen,"_ Khazhak mentally notes about himself and his present situation as the trio continue on their way.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. So now Khazhak has met Jaune Arc, and Weiss Schnee. Who else will he meet during his first day at Beacon? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	8. Chapter 3: Welcome to Beacon - Part 2

**Here we are at chapter 3. Not much left to say, so let's get this show on the road. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 3. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Welcome to Beacon – Part 2**

Khazhak, Ruby, and Jaune finally reach the amphitheater and enter the building, being greeted by the sight of many other new students standing inside, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

"Ruby, over here! I saved you a spot," They look over to see Yang waving to them.

"Oh! Hey, I gotta go. I'll see you after the ceremony," Ruby says before running off to join her sister.

"I need to link up with my team so I'm outta here. Later Jauney-boy," Khazhak says and subsequently leaves as well.

"Hey, wait! Oh great, not including Khazhak, where else am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to," Jaune says before leaving, not noticing a red-haired girl in bronze armor eyeing him from behind.

Khazhak links up with his team and they go over their findings, "The school doesn't seem to be too heavily fortified. I guess that means they do not get many Grimm attacks on the campus grounds," He says.

"Well, there are trained huntsmen, and plenty of students here that gain skills and experience in this school. Not to mention the environmental layout of the area," Reaper says.

"So, what do we do now, Khazhak?" Porphyrius asks.

"Spread out in the amphitheater. Check out the competition. See which new recruits could be potential allies or potential problems for us in the future. Get an idea of what they are capable of. Oh, and Porphyrius," Khazhak turns to his teammate.

"Yeah, boss?" He asks.

"Weiss Schnee is apparently enrolling here as a student," Khazhak's mentioning of the name immediately makes Porphyrius steam with anger.

"WHAT! Tell me where she is! I got a score to settle with her family!" Porphyrius screams, but then gets hit on the head by Khazhak.

"Porphyrius, you are not to harm Weiss Schnee unless I order you to. Remember what I told you about that anger of yours and your thirst for vengeance. They are weaknesses that you must overcome. Is that understood?" Khazhak says with complete authority.

"…Fine. She'd just better not say anything that will set me off if I'm near her," Porphyrius reluctantly agrees.

"Keep scoping out the joint and we'll meet back up later after the ceremony," Khazhak says and the group once more splits up.

Khazhak walks back to Yang and Ruby, and notices Weiss berating her again. Khazhak rolls his eyes and grabs the handle of one of his swords.

"Do you really want to start making things up to me?" Weiss asks, holding a Schnee Dust Company pamphlet in her right hand.

"Absolutely," Ruby practically pleads.

"Then-," Weiss begins until she feels steel near her neck and glances back to see Khazhak, wielding his right sword close to her neck again, and with an unamused glare.

"You really don't learn lessons well, do you?" she asks rhetorically before he sheathes his sword. "As I have said before, your last name means nothing here, Weiss Schnee. Don't expect everyone here to bow before you. That attitude of yours will get you killed real quickly," he warns her.

Weiss then turns to him, "And you! You think you can just threaten me like this and get away with it?!" she retorts, trying to act tough.

Yang decides to intervene before things got really ugly, "Look, uh it sounds like you guys just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"

"Yeah, right," Khazhak grunts and crosses his arms as he looks away.

"Yeah, great idea sis. Ahem. Hello Weiss, I'm Ruby. Want to hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies," Ruby says while extending her hand to Weiss.

"Yeah, and we can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys like tall, blonde, and scraggily over there," Weiss sarcastically says while pointing her thumb at Jaune who notices her upon hearing her talking about him.

"Wow, really?" Ruby asks hopefully.

"…No," Weiss says, losing her previously nice demeanor.

"Wow, you really are made of ice, aren't you, princess? Kindness just slides right off of ya," Khazhak says as he and Weiss glare at each other while Ruby and Yang don't know what to do.

They then all look up in front of them when they hear Professor Ozpin begin his speech.

"I'll keep this brief," Ozpin says while adjusting his glasses. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge-to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose; direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you…to take the first step."

" _Not the most encouraging speech I've ever heard, but definitely a realistic one. I have to admit, Ozpin is right about that. I guess he and I have at least few things in common,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself after hearing Professor Ozpin's speech.

As Ozpin walks away, Professor Goodwitch takes his place, "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

"He seemed kind of off," Yang notes at how Ozpin delivered his speech.

"It's almost like he wasn't even there," Ruby mentions.

At this point, Jaune walks up to Weiss, "I'm a natural blonde you know."

Both Weiss and Khazhak face palm at his stupidity.

 _Later that night…_

It is night and all of the new students have gathered in the ballroom as instructed. Each as changed into various pajamas and nightwear and have a sleeping bag with other essentials with them for the night. Ruby is lying on her sleeping blanket, writing something down in a letter. Her nightwear consists of a black tank top with a heart-shaped Beowolf design on the chest and white long pants with pink roses all over them. She is also wearing a back sleeping mask with triangular red eyes, almost like those of a Beowolf. While writing her letter down, Yang drops right next to her on her own sleeping bag. Yang is wearing an orange tank top with her flame emblem on the front and black boy shorts.

"It's like a big slumber party," Yang says.

"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys though," Ruby replies.

"I know I do," Yang says and starts purring while checking out some of the male students who have their shirts off, showing off their toned bodies.

A short moment later, Jaune starts walking by while wearing a blue full-body pajama outfit with blue bunny slippers and a white bunny face on its chest. Jaune looks over at Yang smiling, while Yang only cringes in disgust at the scene. Yang then looks over to her right to see Khazhak and his team in their own pajamas. Khazhak clothes consists of a long black and blue pants and nothing on his torso except a silver necklace with a dragon holding a blue gemstone around his neck. Reaper is still wearing his mask, but has a sleeveless dark-red hoodie and black pants with a red skull emblem on the sides. Porphyrius is wearing his signature eyepatch, a purple t-shirt and black pants with a purple line going down each leg. And finally, Lloyd is wearing a long-sleeved gray shirt, black shorts, and black gloves that cover his hands. Even with Porphyrius' and Lloyd's shirts on, Yang could still see the outline of their abs and chest.

" _Ooh la-la, hello hotties,"_ Yang drools at them before turning over to Khazhak to get a better look at him. When she does, she can see his finely toned body, but her face becomes one of shock when she notices something else on his body. There are scars littered all over his torso and arms, each of different sizes; most likely from past battles. _"Khazhak, what in the world did you go through?"_ Yang can only think to herself while feeling a little sorry for Khazhak and thinking about what kind of dangerous situations he was put through in his life.

Meanwhile with Khazhak's group, the boys just mind their own business as they go over a few more details.

"Well, Professor Ozpin's speech sure seemed a little harsh," Lloyd notes.

"Life is harsh. Even more so as a huntsman. He was just making sure that they understand EXACTLY what they're getting into. Anyone who doesn't understand the reality of this world we live in won't last long on the battlefield," Khazhak says.

"Pretty much. We know the Grimm will show no mercy to us. Why should he be any different?" Porphyrius adds.

Just then, Khazhak notices some candles being lit behind him and looks back to see the same black-haired girl from earlier sitting next to some lit candles while reading a book. The girl is wearing a black yukata, with gray and white as a secondary color setup. He then notices the bow on her head twitch a bit, making him raise an eyebrow.

" _A twitching bow? Or…something hidden beneath that bow. So…she's a Faunus. How does she think that she can become a huntress if she's too scared of a little discrimination,"_ he thinks. He then sees Yang dragging Ruby over towards the girl with the black bow from earlier. "You guys hang back. I'm gonna have a quick chat with that girl reading the book over there," Khazhak says while getting up, though he isn't going alone this time.

"Oh no you don't, brother. I'm not gonna let you hog all the ladies to yourself this time. I'm coming with you," Lloyd says getting up to join Khazhak. "You guys want to come with us?" Lloyd asks the other two young men of the group.

"No, I'm not interested. What about you Reaper?" Porphyrius says before turning to Reaper.

"I'd rather not. You know I'm not that comfortable talking to people while dressed like this," Reaper says gesturing to his rather odd nightwear.

Khazhak nods to the two before leaving with Lloyd in tow. Meanwhile, the girl reading the book overhears the two sisters and looks up to see Yang walking over to her with a big smile while pulling Ruby, who has little success against her sister's superior strength.

"Hello~~! I believe you two may know each other," Yang says while finally releasing Ruby from her grip.

"Aren't you that girl who exploded?" the girl asks, remembering what happened to Ruby in the courtyard earlier during the day.

"Uh, yeah. My name's Ruby," Ruby introduces herself while extending her hand to the girl, who does not shake her hand and continues to read her book. "But, you can just call me crater…actually, you can just call me Ruby."

"…Okay," the girl says not really interested in them.

Yang looks over to Ruby, "What are you doing?" she whispers.

"I don't know. Help me!" Ruby whispers back as both sisters look back to the girl wearing the bow with smiles on their faces.

"So, what's your name?" Yang asks.

"Blake," the girl, introducing herself as Blake, replies while keeping her eyes on her book.

"Well Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister. I like your bow."

"Thanks," Blake says, starting to get slightly annoyed.

"It goes great with your …pajamas."

"Right…" Blake slowly replies.

The sisters start to get nervous, "Nice night, don't you think?" Yang continues.

"Yes, it's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book…"Blake starts as the girls stare at her. "…That I will continue to read…" but they still don't get the message so she gives it to them. "…As soon as you leave," She finally says, getting irritated.

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause," Yang says, admitting defeat.

"This sure looks like the start of beautiful friendship," Lloyd says as he and Khazhak approach the three girls.

Yang is checking them out, but still slightly nervous about Khazhak's scars. Khazhak notices this, but says nothing. Ruby is also looking at him with a slight blush, mostly from the fact that he has no shirt on. Blake looks up at him, seeing him focus on her for a moment.

"I'm Khazhak Rairyu. This is my comrade, Lloyd Jyousai," Khazhak introduces themselves.

"Oh, come on! Can't we all just get along?" Lloyd asks, trying to relieve some tension in the room. "I mean, we're all friends here, right?" he asks, to which no one answers.

Blake looks unconvinced and returns to her book before Ruby speaks up again.

"What's it about?" Ruby asks.

"Huh?" Blake inquires.

"Your book. Does it have a name?" Ruby asks again.

"Well, it's about a man with two souls-each fighting for control over his body," Blake explains her book's story.

"Oh yeah, that's…real lovely," Yang says, trying to be nice.

"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters. They're one of the reasons why I want to be a huntress," Ruby says, starting to build a connection with Blake.

" _Become like one of the heroes in the books, huh? I don't believe in that righteous bull crap like you Ruby. But, then again, you haven't been through what I had to go through in my life. It's at least good that you can still hold onto the light in this world. My light died out long ago, though."_ Khazhak thinks to himself, listening in on the conversation.

"Why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever?" Blake asks.

"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right, and who protected people that couldn't protect themselves." Ruby says, losing her previously nervous demeanor in place of a stronger one.

"I see you set your goals high, little rose. I can at least respect that," Khazhak says, earning a smile from Ruby.

"That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairytale," Blake says with a frown on her face.

" _You would know, wouldn't you?"_ Khazhak mentally notes while staring at Blake.

"Well, that's why we're here. To make it better," Ruby replies, not losing her smile or happy demeanor.

"Oh, I'm so proud of my baby sister!" Yang says while wrapping her arms around Ruby and picking her up in a bear hug and starting making baby-talk sounds at her.

"Cut it out!" Ruby shrieks, punching Yang, and then the two start getting into a little fight covered in smoke.

Lloyd laughs at the scene while Khazhak kneels down to Blake.

"If you ever hope to be a true huntress and change this world, you're going to have to eventually show people who you really are. And not hide those ears of yours, Faunus girl," Khazhak whispers, making Blake go wide-eyed at his statement.

"How did you-," Blake begins.

"Your eyes give off a catlike appearance and I noticed your bow twitching a moment ago. It wasn't that hard," Khazhak bluntly replies.

"If you know what I am, then you know what comes with these traits. I can't go through that," Blake whispers back.

"I won't force you to come out of hiding, that's your choice. But I will say that if you keep running and hiding like a coward, then you will never survive out in the real world. You can't face this world on your own Blake. Only with a team you trust can you succeed. And for that team to trust you, you need to show that you trust them," Khazhak gives his advice to Blake, hoping it will help her come out of her shell.

"…I'll think about it," She says while lowering her head.

Khazhak rises from his position and looks over to see Ruby holding Yang's left ankle in an ankle lock while Yang stands on her right leg, flailing her arms and smiling.

"What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize that some of us are trying to sleep?!" They all turn to see Weiss Schnee walk over to them, an angry scowl on her face. She has her hair down and is wearing a faded bluish sleeping gown with short sleeves and white trimmings, with her logo on the upper-right chest. Weiss looks over and recognizes who is causing all the ruckus.

"Oh, not you again!" Both Weiss and Yang yell at each other, not happy to see each other.

"Sshh! Guys, She's right people are trying to sleep," Ruby says, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Oh, now you're on my side!" Weiss says.

"I was always on your side!" Ruby defends herself.

"Yeah, what is your problem with my sister? She is only trying to be nice!" Yang sides with her sister.

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss yells, clearly not interested in being friends with Ruby.

"Enough!" Khazhak yells at all of them. "I suggest we all go our separate ways and get some sleep. We all have a busy day tomorrow, and I would really like to be rested and ready for it," he says.

The girls stop their bickering and quite down. Weiss was about to say something, but stopped as Khazhak stared her down, causing her to keep her mouth shut. She did not want to get in a fight with the guy that threatened her life earlier today. She took this chance to eye his chest and is visibly shaken at all the scars that cover his body.

" _Did he get all of those while fighting? What kind of life have you been living, Khazhak?"_ Weiss asks herself before leaving to go get some sleep.

"Goodnight Khazhak. Goodnight Lloyd. Goodnight Blake," Ruby and Yang say before leaving themselves to head back to their sleeping bags while Blake blows out the candles next to her and heads in.

Khazhak and Lloyd nod to them before returning to Porphyrius and Reaper who have already gone to sleep. Lloyd immediately falls asleep as soon as he lays down on his sleeping bag. Khazhak is the last to fall asleep while absentmindedly holding onto his necklace. What Khazhak does not notice is Ruby staring at him from her sleeping bag a few feet away from him. She watches him for a few minutes before rolling over and letting sleep take over.

" _Khazhak Rairyu, just who are you? I can tell you've been through a lot, but what kind of pain did you have to go through in your life? I hope I can learn more about you and hopefully help you through that pain soon,"_ Ruby wonders as she falls asleep.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Things are getting underway for Khazhak's group at Beacon. Who else will they meet during their stay here? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	9. Chapter 4: The First Step

**Here we are at Chapter 4. It's time for initiation, and meeting a few new faces (for Khazhak's group anyway). I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 4. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The First Step**

… _The next morning after the ceremony…_

Khazhak wakes up earlier than most of the other new students, which is usual for him. Rising from his sleeping blanket, Khazhak stretches out his body to remove the excesses of sleep and looks to his teammates. He sees Reaper still sleeping peacefully in his spot, Porphyrius with his back to Khazhak, still sleeping, and then he looks over to Lloyd and shakes his head. Lloyd is sprawled out over his sleeping bag in almost a snow angel position and with drool escaping his mouth as he snores. The rest of the team have gotten used to his snoring long ago, so it does not bother them as much as it used to.

"Reaper, Porphyrius, time to wake up. We have initiation today. Get up," Khazhak says loud enough for the two of them to slowly wake up from there sleep.

"You know, the initiation doesn't begin for a while. You couldn't have let us sleep a little longer?" Porphyrius asks while rubbing the sleep out of his left eye.

"Would you rather I'd poor ice cold water on you instead? You know I would've done it," Khazhak says while moving over to Lloyd who still has not woken up.

"Fair enough. So how are we going to wake up sleeping ugly here?" Reaper asks while looking down at Lloyd. Reaper then notices Khazhak with a slight smirk on his face.

"Oh, I got this. Time for a little shock therapy," Khazhak says as lightning sparks around his right hand. He places his hand on Lloyd's body before sending a jolt of lightning into Lloyd, just enough to get Lloyd to jump out of his sleeping bag, wide awake, and glaring at Khazhak.

"AHHHHH!" Lloyd yells, causing some of the other students to wake up as well. "What the Hell, brother?! I can't believe you just shocked me!"

"Quit your crying, Lloyd. Come on, we have to get dressed and ready for the initiation test. Move out," Khazhak says as he walks away while his teammates get moving.

As Khazhak starts walking, he turns over to see Ruby Rose, sound asleep in her sleeping bag with her sister, Yang, in the same state. He walks over to them and contemplates waking them up so they don't end up being late, and decides on getting them up. However, his method of waking up is gentler than what he did with Lloyd. He kneels down and shakes Ruby's shoulder enough for her to wake up. Ruby's eyes flutter open and she starts groaning from being woken up earlier than she wanted to.

"Oh, five more minutes, please," Ruby groans as she turns over to try and go back to sleep. Khazhak shakes her shoulder again, causing her to turn over to him. "Okay, okay, I'm awake…Khazhak?" Ruby says as she finally notices Khazhak kneeling next to her.

"About time you woke up, little rose. Initiation's today so you better get your sister up and get ready. Just be glad that I did not use my lightning to wake you up like I did with Lloyd," Khazhak says as he stands back up.

"Oh, so that was you. I was wondering who was suddenly screaming this morning. Thanks for waking me up Khazhak," Ruby says as she stretches her arms.

Khazhak stands back up and prepares to leave before something stops him.

"Wake up, lazy bun!" a girl's voice suddenly says.

Khazhak looks over to see a girl waking up a boy on another side of the room. The girl has short, orange hair and turquoise eyes. Her clothing consists of a collared black vest ending at her waist with the emblem oh a hammer with a lightning bolt seen on the back. Under the vest are two layers of clothing, colored red and light-blue respectively. She is also wearing a white sleeveless top that forms a tiny heart shape between her cleavage and collarbone, with a white detached sleeve on each arm. She is wearing matching fingerless gloves on each hand and she has a pink skirt that starts at the waist and ends mid-thigh. Her shoes are a mix of pink and white with pink laces, with the same hammer emblem on the soles. Finally, her attire has what appears to be a form of armor beginning in the middle of the shoulder and neck and ends by the waist. The girl was currently getting a boy up from his sleep, and he did not seem too pleased about it.

"It's morning. It's morning. It's morning," the girl says while moving all around the boy.

The boy currently being woken up by the hyperactive girl has long black hair tied into a ponytail that ends midway down his back. There is a magenta streak on the left side of his hair. He has pale pink eyes, and his clothing appears to be similar to Chinese culture. He is wearing a dark green, diagonally buttoned, long-sleeved tailcoat that appears to be red on the inside, with black and gold trimmings and pink cuffs. The trimmings go down the right side of his torso and forms a black collar. Finally, he is wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt beneath the suit, and light-tan pants with black shoes.

 _"Did he go to sleep in his normal attire? Well, whatever. I need to get ready myself,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself before heading off to get ready for the initiation.

Khazhak brushes his teeth, noticing the same duo, but tunes the girl out like the other guy. He then leaves the restrooms and heads back to the ballroom to collect his things and once again see the same pair talking with each other. Well, more like the girl is talking while the magenta-streak boy is just tying up his sleeping bag while dealing with the girl.

"We've been friends for soooo long. What are the odds we'd still be together? Well not together-together. Not that I'm saying you're not handsome. You are handsome, but that just be weird, right?" The girl continues, not losing an ounce of energy.

"How the hell is she still talking like that? Did she eat a bag of sugar for a late night snack or something?" Khazhak says before leaving to meet up with his teammates in the school cafeteria for breakfast.

Khazhak enters the school cafeteria to grab breakfast. Luckily, they have a wide variety of breakfast food to choose from, but Khazhak just settled for some bacon and pancakes. He sits down with the rest of his team, who have already started eating their breakfast. Well, Reaper is eating through the mouth-sized hole in his mask, Porphyrius is eating normally, and Lloyd is practically inhaling a stack of pancakes on his plate. Khazhak rolls his eyes before chowing down on his bacon. He looks up and once again, sees the same duo together. The boy is cutting up some pancakes while the girl is talking with a pancake hanging out of her mouth. From their earlier conversations, he believes their names are Ren and Nora.

"Right, what was I thinking? But still, I hope we end up on the same team together," the hyperactive girl says before swallowing her pancake. "Oh, we should come up with some sort of plan. To make sure we end up on the same team together. What if we bribed that master? No, that won't work, he has a school," she says.

Khazhak ignores the rest of their conversation and finishes up his breakfast before getting up to leave with his team. They enter the locker rooms where their weapons are being held and get them set up. Khazhak places his swords on his belt in their non-combat form, Reaper places his twin-scythe on his back, Porphyrius gets his backpack weapon on, and Lloyd gets his gauntlets around his arms. After finishing up, Khazhak prepares to leave before noticing the same duo leaving as well with their weapons. He also notices that they pass by Ruby and Yang.

The duo pass by Ruby and Yang as they seem to be getting ready for initiation as well. Khazhak decides to walk over to them, taking Reaper with him while Porphyrius pulls Lloyd out of the locker room.

"We'll see you two at the cliffs. I'll keep Lloyd out of trouble," Porphyrius says, ignoring Lloyd's protests to stay and shoving him out of the locker room.

"Any reason you're staying with me, Reaper?" Khazhak asks his masked comrade.

"I simply haven't had the chance to chat with the sisters like you have," Reaper replies.

"Very well," Khazhak says before walking towards Ruby and Yang who notice Porphyrius pushing Lloyd past them. When they get close, Khazhak notices Ruby hugging her weapon. "I'm starting think you want to marry weapon since you're doing that," Khazhak bluntly says while walking up to them.

"Hey, I just really love weapons, and my Crescent Rose is the best of them all," Ruby defends her actions while Yang snickers in the background.

"If I may ask, what is your weapon exactly?" Reaper inquires to Ruby.

"Oh, it's a high-caliber sniper-scythe. I named it Crescent Rose, my pride and joy," Ruby gleefully answers.

"A scythe, eh? My weapon happens to be a scythe as well," Reaper says while pulling out his twin-scythe, and having Ruby practically drooling at the site of it. "It has two blades instead of one, has a hidden knife at each end attached to a thin metal wire, and can even separate to become two weapons at once.

"Awesome!" Ruby yells while staring at the weapon with stars in her eyes.

"What about you, Yang? What are your weapons?" Reaper asks out of curiosity.

"Well, my weapons are these babies," Yang says while activating her gauntlets. "They're called Ember Celica: a pair of shotgun gauntlets that I use with my boxing fight style. Believe me when I say that together with these, I bring the hurt and the heat."

Reaper nods while Khazhak looks over to Ruby.

"You ready for initiation, little rose?" Khazhak asks her.

"Oh, yeah. I am ready to show everyone how it's done with my sweetheart," Ruby answers while hugging her weapon.

"Well, remember Ruby, you're not the only one going through initiation. If you want to grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together," Yang tells her sister more seriously.

"Ugh, you sound like Dad," Ruby begrudgingly says while placing her weapon back in its locker. "Okay first of all, what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don't need people to help me grow up. I drink milk," Ruby replies while crossing her arms.

"Well, not enough if you ask me, shrimp," Khazhak bluntly replies.

"Hey, that's only because you're two years older than me!" Ruby retorts.

"Anyway, your sister is right Ruby. You won't be able to get far on your own. If you want to become a true huntress, then you have to be able to work with others. Look at me for example. I didn't get this far by myself. I made it here mainly because I had my team to back me up. That is something you must learn as well," Khazhak instructs her.

"Khazhak is right, Ruby. I wouldn't have survived as long as I have if it weren't for Khazhak's leadership and my other comrades' help," Reaper adds.

"I still think I don't need to meet new people," Ruby says.

"Well, what about when we form teams?" Yang asks her sister.

"I don't know, I…I'll just be on your team or something," Ruby hesitantly replies while turning away from Yang.

"Maybe you should try being on someone else's team," Yang says while playing with her hair.

"My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?" Ruby asks her sister while pointing a finger at her and having a mad look on her face.

"What? No, of course I do. I just thought…I don't know maybe it would help you break out of your shell," Yang quickly defends herself.

"What the- I don't need to break out of my shell. That's absolutely-" Ruby flips out, but then Jaune walks by and finishes her sentence for her.

"Ridiculous! There's no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday. I would've remembered to count that high. Oh, why does this have to happen today?" Jaune whines.

 _"I'm starting to think that perhaps Jaune really isn't meant to be here,"_ Khazhak notes about Jaune.

Khazhak watches him walk by two girls. One of them is Weiss Schnee from before, but the other catches Khazhak's interest. The second girl has red hair tied into a waist length ponytail, slightly curled into a loose ringlet. She has vivid green eyes and wears light green eyeshadow around the far upper corners of her eyes. Her top consists of two layers. The top layer is a light-brown, strapless top split divided vertically with some bronze patterns, possibly armor. The bottom layer is a low bronze V-neck. She is wearing an elastic, red, A-line miniskirt and brown cut-off sleeves on both arms. She has on a red ankle-length drapery that appears to be wrapped around her skirt. There is a small circular bronze plate by her right hip opposite two pouches with both connected by a belt. On the plate is a spear and shield emblem. She is wearing a bronze circlet headpiece above her ear and under her bangs. A pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds hang from her circlet on thin chains. She also sports a large bronze gorget around her neck, and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm. She has elaborate bronze greaves starting below her mid-thigh, continuing downwards into her boots and a pair of cuisses that begin mid-thigh and end slightly above her knees. On her left arm is a bronze bracer on top of her sleeve. Finally, she has on high-heeled brown boots with bronze trim, matching her skirt, and reaching up to her mid-calf.

 _"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mistral's 'invincible girl.' I didn't expect to finally meet you face-to-face, especially out here in Vale. This truly is a treat…Pyrrha Nikos,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself before walking over to the two while Reaper continues his conversation with Ruby and Yang. When he gets close to the, he can see Weiss with an evil look on her face and dark clouds behind her. "You keep having that evil look on your face, and people will start to think you're insane. Even though you actually are a little bit crazy," Khazhak comments on Weiss' look as he approaches the two girls, causing Weiss to go cross-eyed for a second.

"Ugh, not you again. Come to threaten me again have you, you black-dressed brute," Weiss angrily says.

"As enjoyable as your company is, princess, no. I didn't come for you," Khazhak sarcastically says before turning to Pyrrha. "I came to see you. It's not every day you get to meet the one and only Pyrrha Nikos, the champion from Mistral."

"Oh, I see you heard of me. Well, it's nice to meet you, mister…?" Pyrrha starts.

"My name is Khazhak Rairyu. An honor to make your acquaintance," Khazhak replies before Weiss buts in.

"Let me guess, Khazhak. You came to try and get Pyrrha on to your team, didn't you? If you know who she is, then do you really think you are in any position to ask her to join your team?" Weiss asks.

"Her position and fame mean nothing to me, Weiss Schnee, just as yours means nothing to me." Khazhak replies, shocking both girls. "I did not come to ask her to be on my team, for I already have one. We just haven't become official yet, and I'd rather fight with my comrades then with her. As for Pyrrha's fame, titles and fame mean nothing on the battlefield. The only things you can rely on out there are your comrades and your own strength. But as far as I am concerned, Pyrrha Nikos is just another fellow student here like me, so I will treat here no differently," Khazhak says, causing Weiss to get angry and Pyrrha to smile a little.

 _"He actually sees me as a normal person. Finally someone who doesn't care about my celebrity status. That's good to know,"_ Pyrrha mentally notes to herself.

"However, I mainly focused on her exploits as a skilled fighter. I have taken an interest in those," Khazhak says.

"Really. Why?" Pyrrha asks.

"You see, as a warrior, I strive to become stronger. But to do that, I need strong opponents, people who can force me to fight seriously and push me to my limit. I believe that you may fit those qualifications, Pyrrha. Again, this isn't about your fame. I just want the chance to spar and fight against you one day to see if you are as good as I've heard." Khazhak answers.

"Oh, Well if that's the case, then I wouldn't mind sparring against you someday," Pyrrha says.

"Great, I thank you for your generosity, Pyrrha Nikos," Khazhak says as he and Pyrrha shake hands, awaiting the time when they could fight against each other and learn one another's skills.

"You know what else is great? Me. Jaune Arc, nice to meet you," Jaune says as he enters the conversation, trying to woo Weiss.

"You again," Weiss says irritated at his mere presence and crossing her arms while giving him an angry look.

"Nice to meet you Jaune," Pyrrha says in a more open manner than Weiss, but Jaune moves her out of the way to get to Weiss.

"Yeah, yeah. So, Weiss. Couldn't help but overhear your fondness of me the other day," Jaune says while striking a pose.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Weiss says, placing one hand on her forehead in annoyance.

"How much of an idiot are you?" Khazhak asks while face palming himself.

"Don't worry, no need to be embarrassed. So, been hearing rumors about teams. I was thinking you and me would make a good one. What do you say?" Jaune asks, trying to act cool.

"Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each, so-," Pyrrha notes, gaining Jaune's attention.

"You don't say. Well hot stuff, play your cards right and maybe you join up with the winning team," Jaune says, focusing on Pyrrha now.

"Jaune, is it? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" Weiss says, getting in between the two.

"Not in the slightest, snow angel," Jaune replies, causing Khazhak to shake his head in disappointment at his stupidity.

"This is Pyrrha," Weiss introduces the redhead.

"Hello again," Pyrrha politely says while waving her hand.

"Pyrrha graduated top of her class at Sanctum," Weiss lists off Pyrrha's first accomplishment.

"Never heard of it," Jaune says.

"Ah, she's won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row. A new record," Weiss continues.

"The what?" Jaune replies.

"She's on the front of every Pumpkin Pete's marshmallows flakes box!" Weiss says, waving her arms quickly, getting really irritated at Jaune's ignorance of Pyrrha's fame.

"That's you?! They only do that for star athletes and cartoon characters!" Jaune gasps, finally knowing something about Pyrrha before actually meeting her.

" _THAT'S what gets you remembering about her?"_ Khazhak thinks with a look that says "are you kidding me".

"Yeah, it was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal isn't very good for you," Pyrrha replies.

"So, after hearing all of this, do you really think you're in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Weiss asks Jaune.

"I guess not. Sorry," Jaune says, looking down in defeat.

"Actually Jaune, I think you'd make a great leader," Pyrrha says, trying to support Jaune.

" _I doubt it,"_ Khazhak mentally notes to himself.

"Oh, stop it," Jaune happily says, having his spirits back.

"Seriously, please stop it. This kind of behavior should not be encouraged," Weiss says, trying to break down Jaune's spirits again.

"Sounds like Pyrrha's on board for team Jaune. Spots are filling up quick. Now, I'm not supposed to do this, but maybe I could pull some strings; find a place for you. What do you say?" Jaune asks, getting too close to Weiss for her comfort.

"Alright, that's a bit too close. Pyrrha, a little help please," Weiss asks Pyrrha for support.

Jaune turns around only to go wide-eyed as Pyrrha throws a red and gold spear at him, sending him into a wall, hanging off of the spear by his hood.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha apologizes to Jaune.

"Would all first year students please report to Beacon cliff for initiation? Again, all first year students report to Beacon cliff immediately," Glynda Goodwitch announces over the broadcast system.

"It was nice meeting you," Pyrrha says while pulling her spear out of the wall, causing Jaune to fall onto the floor as she and Weiss walk past him.

"Likewise," Jaune painfully replies.

At this point, Khazhak approaches Jaune along with Reaper, Ruby and Yang. Ruby goes to Jaune and gives him her hand in assistance.

"Having some trouble there lady-killer?" Yang asks.

"Hmph. More like the ladies killed him," Khazhak points out trying to sound humorous.

"I don't understand. My dad said all girls look for is confidence. Oh, where did I go wrong?" Jaune asks.

"Confidence, not cockiness Jaune," Reaper answers as he and Khazhak leave the locker room.

… _Later, at the cliffs…_

Every one of the new first year students are standing at the cliffs in a single line with Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch in front of them. Today, they finally get to perform their initiation exam. From right to left, it is Jaune, Khazhak, Ruby, Yang, Reaper, a male student, Ren, Nora, Porphyrius, Lloyd, another male student, Pyrrha, Weiss, and then a few other students.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest," Ozpin explains.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today," Glynda explains to them.

"What, hooh," Ruby mutters, not liking the new information.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well," Ozpin continues as Khazhak and Reaper look at each other while Porphyrius and Lloyd do the same thing.

"Oh no," Ruby mutters, feeling even more worried.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years," Ozpin concludes.

"WHAT?!" Ruby yells as her hopes are literally shattered in an instant.

"See, I told you," Nora says to Ren, proving herself right about the teams.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die," Ozpin instructs the students.

"Heh-heh," Jaune gulps.

"Now you're speaking my language," Khazhak says, smirking slightly.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of the initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path, containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin says.

"Yeah, um, sir-," Jaune begins.

"Good. Now, take your positions," Ozpin says, completely ignoring Jaune.

Everyone gets into a different stance, ready for what comes next. Well, everyone except for Jaune.

"Uh, sir. I got a…I got a question," Jaune tries to get Ozpin's attention while Weiss is suddenly launched into the air from a stone pad that everyone else is standing on.

"So, this landing strategy thing, what is it? You're like, dropping us off somewhere?" Jaune asks as more students get launched into the air.

"No. You will be falling," Ozpin answers as one student goes flying followed by Lloyd and then Porphyrius.

"Oh, I see. So, did you like hand out parachutes for us?" Jaune asks again as Nora goes next.

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy," Ozpin answers as another student goes up, then Reaper gets launched after waving to Ruby and Yang.

"Uh-huh, that," Jaune continues.

Yang winks at Ruby and Khazhak before putting on a pair of aviator shades and getting launched. Ruby smirks at Khazhak before joining her sister in the air, leaving just Khazhak and Jaune. Khazhak looks down at his launch pad before looking back at Ozpin, unamused.

"You enjoy this part, don't you?" Khazhak asks, but Ozpin just shows a slight smirk. "Shove it," Khazhak says to Ozpin, pointing a finger at him, and then gets launched into the air.

"So, uh, what exactly is a landing strateGGYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!" Jaune asks before getting launched into the air with the others, screaming like a little girl.

Ozpin just looks on while sipping out of his coffee mug. Professor Goodwitch at this point approaches Ozpin.

"You do enjoy this part a little bit, don't you?" Glynda asks, also unamused.

"Maybe a little bit," Ozpin admits before thinking to himself. _"Now, let's see what these new students are capable of…Especially Ruby Rose and Khazhak Rairyu…"_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Now the initiation begins for Khazhak and his group. Will they succeed? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	10. Chapter 5: Initiation

**Here we are at Chapter 5. Let's see how the initiation goes for Khazhak and his group, along with everyone else. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 5. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Initiation**

Khazhak flies through the air, glancing around as he sees other initiates flying through the air with him.

"Birdy, no!" he hears to his left and looks over to see Ruby, and a few black feathers trailing behind her.

Ruby fires her sniper-scythe three times to slow her fall before turning it into its scythe form and hooking the blade around a tree branch. She spins around the branch before releasing herself from it and moving to the forest floor. Meanwhile, Weiss activates her semblance and lands on a glyph in the air before jumping off it to get closer to the ground. Reaper get close to another tree and pretty much does the same thing as Ruby until he reaches the ground. Meanwhile, Porphyrius points his blades in front of him and starts spinning like a drill until he spins right through two trees before landing on the branch of a third one. He looks up when he notices Lloyd falling not too far from him.

"CANNONBALL!" Lloyd yells as he activates his semblance, encasing his whole body in his steel skin armor, rolling into a ball, and crashing into the ground, destroying everything around him. "Oh yeah, that's right! I'm indestructible, baby!" he says, exiting the basketball court-sized crater he just made without a scratch on him.

Porphyrius can only shake his head as he moves on. Meanwhile, Khazhak approaches the trees and when he gets close, stabs his left sword into it before pushing off the tree and repeats the process with his swords three times until he reaches the forest floor. After finishing his landing, Khazhak hears a faint screaming and looks up to his left to see Jaune Arc falling in the air, flailing his limbs around, and looking like he's about to go splat. Khazhak then notices another figure in the air, this figure being Pyrrha Nikos. Pyrrha breaks through three trees with her shield before rolling onto the branch of a fourth and turning her red and gold sword into a rifle. She sees Jaune in trouble and decides to help by turning her rifle into its spear form, taking careful aim before launching it at Jaune. The spear luckily hits its mark and pins Jaune to a tree, saving him from an unpleasant end.

"Thank you!" Jaune says from a distance.

"I'm sorry!" Pyrrha yells apologetically.

"Well, it looks Jauney-boy gets to live a little while longer. Whatever, I need to link up with Reaper," Khazhak says before heading off in his own direction. Khazhak does not get far before he is confronted by a pack of Beowolves, all ready to kill him. Khazhak takes out his swords and gets into his fighting stance. "Ozpin did say to 'not hesitate to destroy everything in my path.' Might as well follow his advice," Khazhak says as lightning charges into his swords. "LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" he yells, sending a swarm of lightning bolts at the monsters.

The attack takes out a several of them, and some trees in the process. Soon, the rest of the pack start charging in towards Khazhak. When one Beowolf gets too close, Khazhak swings his left blade and slicing its head off before kicking the dead body at another Beowolf. Two more come at Khazhak, but he backflips away from them stabbing one with both his swords through its body and firing his guns, sending rounds into the second. Another Grimm approaches Khazhak from behind, but he kicks the monster in the face before spinning his body and slicing the Beowolf in half. Khazhak looks to the remainder of the pack, five Beowolves, all lined up in front of him. Khazhak charges more lightning into his blades.

"LIGHTNING SLASH!" Khazhak yells, sending multiple lightning wave attacks at the Grimm, destroying them and the forest behind them.

When the smoke clears, Khazhak retracts his blades and places them back onto his belt, feeling that the battle is over. What he doesn't notice is another Beowolf coming up from behind him. The Grimm jumps up to ambush him, only to get suddenly pulled away by a small knife with a wire attached to it. Khazhak sees the Beowolf get pulled towards a figure in the shadows before a red scythe blade comes out and slices through the monster's body, leaving it in two. The figure comes out of the shadows and it turns out to be Reaper.

"You missed one," Reaper says in a monotone voice.

"I left that one for you," Khazhak replies.

"You know, I don't think that Professor Ozpin literally meant 'destroy everything in your path' when he said it to us," Reaper says, gesturing to the destroyed trees.

"I'm just following his advice. Come on, we need to find this temple where the relics are located," Khazhak says while walking past Reaper, who follows closely behind him.

 _During this time…_

Ruby lands on the ground and begins running off in search for her sister, Yang.

 _"Gotta find Yang. Gotta find Yang. Gotta find Yang. Gotta find…"_ Ruby thinks in her head while running through the forest. "Yang! Yang!" She yells. _"Oh, this is bad. This is really bad. Oh, what if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? There's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny. I don't think he's very good in a fight though. Oh, what about Blake? So mysterious, so calm. Plus she likes books. Well then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her. But, then there's Khazhak. He's always helped me out before. Or one of his friends. But, I'm sure they already planned on meeting up with each other to become an official team, so that may not work out for me. Ugh, okay. Who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake, Khazhak, Reaper, Porphyrius, Lloyd, and…"_ Ruby mentally checks off her list while running through the forest.

Fortunately, she finally meets up with someone. Unfortunately, that someone happens to be the heiress, Weiss Schnee. Ruby comes to a stop and they both eye each other, signifying that they are now partners, as per Ozpin's instructions. They stare at each other for a moment before Weiss walks off away from Ruby, obviously not wanting to be her partner.

"Wait, where are you going?!...We're supposed to be teammates," Ruby cries out, feeling down at Weiss abandoning her.

"Ow! Ugh," Weiss says while trying to navigate her way through some bushes and around trees as she walks away from Ruby.

However, she eventually stops, hears some noise, and looks up to see Jaune hanging by his hood on a tree, curtesy of Pyrrha's spear.

"Ow, stop, uh stupid…" Jaune mutters, trying to free himself with no success.

He looks down at Weiss and waves to her while laughing nervously, hoping she'll help him. Weiss then turns around and walks back to Ruby.

"By no means does this make us friends," Weiss says while grabbing Ruby's hood and dragging said girl behind her away from Jaune.

"You came back!" Ruby cheers and starts pumping her arms in the air in celebration.

"Hey wait! Come back! Who's gonna get me down from here?!" Jaune pleads for help since he still cannot free himself from his current predicament.

Suddenly, Pyrrha comes forth from below him, "Jaune! Do you…have any spots left on your team?" Pyrrha playfully asks.

"Very funny," Jaune retorts crossing his arms before looking back at Pyrrha with a smile, which she returns.

 _Meanwhile…_

Porphyrius moves through the forest, getting closer to the crash site of Lloyd's most recent work. He eventually finds the crater and finds that Lloyd is no longer there.

"Professor Ozpin said that the temple would be north of here. Lloyd may have gone that way for it," Porphyrius mutters before heading north through the forest.

Porphyrius continues through the forest before finding some trees, and some Grimm, scattered in pieces. Porphyrius checks one of the trees and notices claw marks on it.

"No doubt about it, Lloyd just came through here. He never was very good at being subtle. He's a lot like Khazhak in that aspect," Porphyrius notes before moving on.

Porphyrius moves in the same direction for a few minutes before he starts hearing gun shots ahead of him. He jumps up into a tree and moves from branch to branch until he comes to a small clearing and scopes out the situation. In front of him is Lloyd standing against a few Grimm, with the rest already dead from his onslaught. Deciding to show him up a little, Porphyrius jumps into the air and starts firing his assault rifles from his weapon arms, taking out the remaining Grimm while also making Lloyd jump out of the way. When Porphyrius lands in front of the dead Grimm, he turns to his right to look at Lloyd, who has an irritated look on his face.

"Dude, next time warn me before firing your guns off! You could've shot me in the head!" He yells.

"Oh, stop crying, you would have just shrugged off the rounds as if they were pebbles. Come on, Khazhak and Reaper are probably already heading to the temple. We need to meet up with them," Porphyrius says and starts walking off.

"Just be ready for when I get my payback for that stunt you pulled," Lloyd warns him before catching up with him as they continue their way.

 _Back with Ruby and Weiss…_

"What's the hurry?" Ruby asks, trying to catch up with Weiss.

"I will not let my mission be delayed because you're too slow. I swear if I get a bad grade because you're-" Weiss says until Ruby suddenly ends up in front of her, thanks to her semblance which is speed. "What the-?"

"I'm not slow, see. You don't have to worry about me," Ruby says with a smile.

"When did-?" Weiss asks.

"Weiss, just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters," Ruby starts before moving to Weiss and placing one arm around her shoulders while Weiss crosses her arms and looks at her with an angry look. "You're about to see a whole different side of me today, Weiss. And after it's all over, you're gonna be like, 'wow, that Ruby girl is really, really cool…and I wanna be her friend," Ruby says before running off again, leaving rose petals in her wake.

"You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time," Weiss says while waving one arm, trying to get the rose petals out of her face, noticing that Ruby didn't respond to her. "Ruby?" Weiss asks as the forest starts to get darker and she hears rustling in the bushes around her. "Ruby…" Weiss mutters, starting to get worried as red eyes appear around her and she hears growling. Then a Beowolf comes out of the bushes and roars at her. "RUBY!" Weiss yells.

 _…Meanwhile, with Yang…_

It is the middle of the day as the initiation exam continues for the new recruits. For now, Yang Xiao Long walks aimlessly through the Emerald Forest, looking for any signs of the other students nearby.

"Hello, is anyone out there? Hello! I'm getting bored here," Yang says before hearing rustling sounds in some nearby bushes. "Is someone there?" Yang checks behind the bushes. "Ruby, is that you?" she asks, but only gets an angry growl in response and looks up, "Nope," She says, adding a popping sound to the word.

Suddenly, an Ursa rushes out from behind the bushes and attempts to slash at Yang with its right claw, but Yang rolls out of the way in time. She activates her shotgun gauntlets before a second Ursa attacks from her right, to which she avoids with a back flip. She turns to the Grimm as they come at her again. One Grimm runs at her, but she punches it with a right hook, sending it flying backwards. The second Grimm comes at her, but she retaliates by giving it a left uppercut and then a left kick, knocking it back.

"You guys wouldn't have happened to see a girl in a red hood, would you?" Yang asks, but the Grimm only roar at her. "You could just say no," She replies.

One of the Ursai attacks Yang again with a swing of its left claw and then its right claw, but Yang backflips out of the way.

"Ha-ha-ha! Jeez, you two couldn't hit the broadside of a bu-…" Yang starts before noticing something in front of her. That something being a single strand of her blonde hair as it falls to the ground. One thing no one should ever do to Yang Xiao Long is this: never touch her hair.

"You…" Yang mutters as her eyes change color from lilac purple to crimson red in pure anger, while the Grimm look on confused. "YOU MONSTERS!" Yang screams as she explodes in an angry blaze.

Yang charges at the Grimm, hitting one with a left hook before sending it up with a right uppercut. She then points her gauntlets behind her and fires them, launching her at the mid-air monster. She then begins to pummel the hopeless Grimm with a flurry of punches before hitting it hard enough with a final blow to send it crashing through numerous trees behind it. As the trees fall, Yang turns to the second Ursa as it comes towards her.

"What?! You want some, too?!" She yells, still burning with rage at the monsters.

The Grimm stands on two legs, sizing her up, before something attacks it from behind, killing it. That something turns out to be a black katana blade in its gun form attached to a black ribbon. Yang looks and sees that the culprit is none other than Blake Belladonna, now her new partner. Blake pulls the katana back to her and places it back in its sheath on her back before smirking at Yang while the blonde just looks at her as she calms down from her previous rage episode.

"I could've taken him," Yang says.

… _Meanwhile, with Weiss Schnee…_

Weiss gets pushed back by a Beowolf as she fights while being surrounded by the whole pack. She gets back on her feet and readies her blade in front of her.

 _"Remember your training, Weiss. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward. Not that forward. Slow your breathing. Wait for the right time to strike and…Now!"_ Weiss thinks to herself before setting her blade pointed at a Beowolf as the revolving chamber in her sword spins to the red dust chamber. She then shoot over to the Grimm to kill it, but someone gets in her way. Suddenly, Ruby appears out of nowhere and attacks the Grimm with her scythe.

"Gotcha!" Ruby says, unaware of Weiss closing in on her from behind.

"Huh?!" Weiss freaks out, losing her balance and sending a stream of fire at a random tree to avoid hitting Ruby.

Ruby finally notices, but loses focus on the Grimm, allowing it to strike her with its claw. The attack sends Ruby back, colliding into Weiss and causing both to lose their footing.

"Hey, watch it!" Ruby says.

"Excuse me! You attacked out of turn. I could've killed you!" Weiss yells at her.

"You'll have to try a lot harder than that," Ruby mutters to herself.

The two refocus on the Grimm still surrounding them. Ruby reloads her sniper scythe and points it behind her, cocking the rifle while Weiss gets her blade up in defense. Then, a tree encased in fire falls by their side, showing that their part of the forest is on fire.

"We have to go!" Weiss orders Ruby, grabbing her and pulling her away as the Grimm howl and retreat from the flames like them. The two girls make it out of the fire and into safety as Weiss hunches over, trying to catch her breath while Ruby remains unfazed.

"What was that?! That should've been easy!" Ruby questions Weiss.

"Well, perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!" Weiss angrily replies.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ruby further questions her.

"I'm just surprised that one who talks so much would communicate so little during an encounter," Weiss argues with Ruby.

"Well, I'm sorry that you need my help to win a fight. I'm just fine on my own!" Ruby retorts.

"Well, congratulations on being the strongest CHILD to sneak your way into Beacon. Bravo," Weiss says before turning around and walking away.

Ruby yells at her and vents her frustration by slicing a tree in two with one strike of her scythe. Ruby follows Weiss, neither of them noticing a large black feather falling onto the fallen tree.

… _With Khazhak and Reaper…_

Khazhak and Reaper continue towards the temple until they spot smoke rising above the tree line. Then, they hear the faint sounds of howling, howling that sounds as if it is getting closer to them. They wait a few moments before a pack of Beowolves run towards them and soon, they are both surround as the Grimm encircle their prey.

"Looks like someone set the forest on fire to drive these Beowolves away from them, only for said beasts to come running to us. I swear, we can never catch a break," Reaper says while preparing his twin scythe.

"Makes no difference to me. At least I can alleviate some of my boredom now," Khazhak replies, pulling out his swords.

The Grimm charge at the two warriors all at once, but Reaper fires his two hidden knives, each attached to a thin metal wire, at two Grimm, and starts spinning his weapon above him while Khazhak kneels below him. The technique causes the two bound Grimm to get sent spinning into a twister, colliding with all their fellow monsters. Reaper eventually releases the captured Grimm, sending them flying into the trees. Retracting his knives back into his twin scythe, Reaper readies himself as Khazhak stands back up. Khazhak rushes towards four Beowolves, spinning his body and doing a swing with his left blade, decapitating one Grimm before slicing a second one in half with his right sword. Khazhak then kicks a third Grimm in the face before performing a cross slash that cuts the Grimm into four pieces. Finally, Khazhak stabs his blades into the fourth Grimm before pulling the trigger and watching the Grimm explode into tiny fragments. Meanwhile, Reaper spins his twin scythe as five Grimm charge him from different angles. As they get close, Reaper jumps into the air, dodging the assault. He lands on one Beowolf and spins his scythes until one blade curves around the creature's neck. He then flips over it, and slices the head off while simultaneously stabbing a second Grimm in the shoulder. He separates his weapon into two separate scythes and pulls the pinned scythe out of the Grimm, opening up its body before cutting both arms off with a downward slash of his scythes. Reaper then ducks under an attack from the third Grimm before slicing off its legs and stabbing it in the head and swinging it into another Beowolf. Reaper combines the two scythe weapons back into one and then performs a diagonal slash, cutting the Grimm in two. The last Grimm approaches from behind, but gets killed by a shot from Khazhak's swords before it could finish the job.

"Well that was easy, as usual," Khazhak says, disappointed at the dullness of the fight.

"Now, now. I'm sure there will be bigger challenges ahead of us in time," Reaper replies.

"Whatever. We should be near the temple by now. Let's get moving," Khazhak says before moving on with Reaper in tow.

… _Meanwhile, with Porphyrius and Lloyd…_

"Are we there yet?" Lloyd asks his partner.

"For the hundredth time, no! We are not at the temple yet!" Porphyrius shouts, getting frustrated with Lloyd's impatience.

"I'd just wish something would come out and fight us already," Lloyd notes.

Not a minute later, a large group of Ursai surround the duo. Both ready their weapons while Porphyrius gives Lloyd an irritated look.

"You just HAD to say it, didn't you?" Porphyrius rhetorically asks him. _"I wonder if Khazhak and Reaper have become partners and made it to the temple yet? Hopefully, we'll meet up with them soon…"_ Porphyrius mentally wonders as he and Lloyd prepare for their next battle.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Well, at least the initiation isn't boring for Khazhak's group. How will they fair with the rest of the initiation? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	11. Chapter 6: The Emerald Forest

**Here we are at Chapter 6. This is going to be a short chapter because the next one will be a little long. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 6. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: The Emerald Forest**

… _On Beacon Cliff with Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch…_

Professor Glynda Goodwitch walks up to Professor Ozpin as they watch over the progress of the new initiates from their scrolls, which are advanced phones that also act as computers and have other functions.

"Our last pair has been formed, sir. Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Poor boy, I can't possibly imagine those two getting along. Still, he's probably better off than miss Nikos," Glynda notes.

"Hm," Ozpin mutters, not really focusing on them.

"I don't care what his transcripts say. That Jaune-fellow is not ready for this kind of combat. However, unlike him, Mr. Rairyu and his groupmates have definitely proven themselves to be ready thus far. So much so that it seems like they have been doing this for a long time. It almost makes me worry about what kind of lives they have been living before and after they met up," Goodwitch says before turning off the screen on her scroll and walking away. "I guess we'll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes. Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year? Professor Ozpin?" Goodwitch asks as he continues to ignore her and focus on his own screen.

On his screen, there is one video showing Khazhak Rairyu and Edom Soul Reaper heading through the forest, along with several dead Grimm disintegrating behind them. Then he looks over to another video that shows Ruby Rose sitting on the ground while her partner, Weiss Schnee, pacing back and forth behind her.

"Hm," Ozpin mutters somewhat worriedly at Ruby and Weiss' current predicament.

… _Meanwhile, at Ruby and Weiss' location…_

Ruby continues to sit on the ground, her head resting on one hand while Weiss paces back and forth behind her.

"It's definitely this way," Weiss says, going in one direction. "I mean, this way. It's definitely this way," She says, now going in the opposite direction while Ruby plays with a leaf. "Alright, it's official. We passed it," Weiss says as Ruby gets back on her feet.

"Why can't you just admit that you have no idea where we're going?" Ruby asks her.

"Because I know exactly where we're going. We're going…to…the forest temple," Weiss says, not willing to admit the obvious truth.

"Ugh!" Ruby groans.

"Oh, stop it. You don't know where we are either," Weiss retorts.

"Well, at least I'm not pretending like I know everything," Ruby counters back.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Weiss asks.

"It means you're a big, stupid jerk, and I hate you!" Ruby angrily answers.

"Ugh! Just keep moving," Weiss says, turning around and walking away.

"Oh, just keep moving. Hurry up! Waah, watch where you're going! Why are you so bossy?!" Ruby begrudgingly asks.

"I'm not bossy! Don't say thing like that!" Weiss retorts as she walks back up to Ruby.

"Stop treating me like a kid!" Ruby says, as both girls get in each other's faces.

"Stop acting like a kid!" Weiss replies.

"Well, stop acting like you're perfect!" Ruby yells.

"I'm NOT perfect! Not yet, but I'm still leagues better than you," Weiss defends herself before walking away, ending the argument.

"You don't even know me," Ruby mutters with her head hanging down. _"I could really use Yang or Khazhak's support right now."_

… _Meanwhile, with Khazhak and Reaper…_

"We should be getting close to the temple now," Reaper notes as they continue through the forest.

"Yes, and I doubt we'll see any more Grimm for short while at least, seeing as how we've been massacring them ever since this exam started," Khazhak notes.

"And whose fault do you think it is that so many seem to keep coming to us? What with all the bright, blue lightning you release across the forest with your semblance," Reaper adds.

"Whatever, let's get moving. We have a relic to retrieve," Khazhak says.

As they continue walking, they eventually meet up with Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna. Yang smiles at seeing her two friends appearing to be alright while Blake keeps her eyes off of Khazhak due to their previous conversation the other night.

"Hey Khazhak, Reaper, you're alright," Yang says, walking up to them.

"It seems you're doing fine, too. And you found your new partner. Doing well, Blake?" Khazhak asks, looking over to the bookworm.

"I'm fine, but thank you for your concern," Blake answers, finally looking over to Khazhak.

"I guess since we're all heading to the same place, we might as well walk together. We'll have better chances of surviving in larger groups out here," Reaper offers.

"Sounds like a good plan to me. Let's go," Yang says and then they all move out together.

Eventually, they reach a hill overlooking a set of stone ruins. The ruins seem to be pillars circling an old oracle of sorts, with much smaller pillars closer to the center.

"You think this is it?" Yang asks Blake.

Blake makes no answer and starts walking down to the ruins followed by the rest of the group. They walk into the center of the ruins and notice chess pieces set on each of the small pillars around them, with some pillars standing without a chess piece on them.

"Chess pieces?" Blake inquires.

"Some of them are missing. Looks like we weren't the first ones here," Yang says.

"Chess pieces, huh. Looks to me like the higher-ups see us as pieces in some bigger game they put us in. Moving us around accordingly," Khazhak says, narrowing his eyes at the pieces.

"Well, I guess we should pick one," Blake says.

"And here I was half expecting something a little more…bizarre choice of items for relics in this initiation," Reaper notes.

Wasting no time, Khazhak picks a black king piece and places it in his pants pocket for safety.

 _"I wonder how the others are faring right now."_ Khazhak mentally thinks while looking out into the forest.

… _Meanwhile, with Jaune and Pyrrha…_

Jaune and Pyrrha approach a cave that has stone carvings of people fighting what looks to be a giant scorpion on one side.

"You think this is it?" Jaune asks Pyrrha.

The duo make their way into the cave with Jaune holding a torch for light.

"I'm not sure this is it," Pyrrha notes.

Jaune sighs, "Pyrrha, I made the torch. Could you at least humor me for maybe five more feet wa-waah!" Jaune says before falling onto the ground, causing the torch to drop into some water and go out.

In the darkness of the cave, Jaune gets back on his feet next to Pyrrha.

"Ow!" Jaune mutters, feeling some pain from the fall.

"Do you feel that?" Pyrrha asks while looking around the darkened cave.

"Soul crushing regret?" Jaune says.

"No, it feels…warm," Pyrrha answers.

… _Back with Khazhak, Reaper, Yang, and Blake…_

Yang looks at the chess pieces, deciding on which one to pick. She ultimately decides on a white knight piece.

"Hm. How 'bout a cute little pony?" Yang asks Blake while holding up the piece.

"Sure," Blake answers, rolling her eyes, but smiling all the same.

"That wasn't too hard," Yang says.

"Well, it's not like this place is too difficult to find," Blake adds.

"Yeah, unless you're hounded by Grimm every time you move five feet within the forest," Reaper says while giving Khazhak a snarky look from behind his mask, to which Khazhak just grunts at him.

"Hey Reaper. I've been meaning to ask you. Why do you always wear that mask? You even wore it when we all gathered in the school ballroom last night to sleep," Yang inquires.

"That's a…personal matter. One I don't feel comfortable talking about at this time," Reaper hesitantly replies.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to pry. If it's that bad, then I won't dig further unless you're willing to talk about it," Yang says with a sad expression.

"It's quite alright. Perhaps, one day, I will tell you. But, for now, we should probably…" Reaper begins before they all hear a loud roar close by.

They all look up to the hill they came down from to see the body of an Ursa flying down and landing a few yards from them, dead.

"YAAHHOOOO!" a loud voice utters as a second Ursa comes flying towards them.

They jump back as it lands near them and see that the owner of the voice is none other than Lloyd Jyousai, who begins tearing apart the Grimm with his claws until it is dead.

"That's right, you ugly excuse for a black bear. Tell your friends about me when you see them in Hell, alright?" Lloyd yells before noticing the four students staring at him with a look that says "really?" on it. "Uh, how long have you guys been standing there?" he nervously asks.

"Too long," Reaper slowly answers, shaking his head slowly.

A moment later, Porphyrius lands next to Lloyd at sees everyone staring at them.

"Sorry Khazhak. Lloyd here was just getting too antsy for a fight, and then a second later, we're surrounded by Ursai. And you know how Lloyd gets in these situations," Porphyrius explains.

"It's fine. Just pick your relic. The relics are those chess pieces over there," Khazhak points to the remaining chess pieces in the temple.

"Understood," Porphyrius says before going over to the temple and choosing a second black king piece from the set.

"Man, you guys are a real riot. I doubt I'll ever get bored if I stick with you four," Yang says, smiling at the four guys in the group.

"You know it. We kick monster butt, and look good doing it," Lloyd says, giving her a high-five, while the other boys roll their eyes at the display.

… _Back with Jaune and Pyrrha…_

Jaune and Pyrrha continue to travel through the dark cave before coming across a large, pointy object emitting a yellow glow.

"That's the relic!" Jaune says excitedly. He slowly reaches for the relic, but said object suddenly moves before he can grab it. "Hey! Bad relic," Jaune says, going for it a second time, only for it to move again. Finally, he leaps at it and grabs it with both hands. "Gotcha!" Jaune says, not noticing the object is still moving.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha says worriedly.

Suddenly, Jaune comes face-to-face with some large creature, with glowing red markings and eyes staring back at him, hissing at him.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" he screams.

… _Back with Khazhak's group, Yang, and Blake…_

The whole group hear Jaune's screams, but Yang doesn't know it's him.

"Some girl's in trouble!" Yang says, worried about the screams. "Blake, did you hear that?" She asks her partner, who just looks up into the sky with a worried expression.

"Actually, I think that was Jaune," Khazhak says, and soon Yang, Lloyd, and Porphyrius, start laughing.

 _…Back with Jaune and Pyrrha…_

Pyrrha comes running out of the cave, all the while hearing faint screaming behind her. A moment later, Jaune bursts out of the cave, still holding onto the object from earlier. This object turns out to be the stinger from the tail of a Deathstalker, a large, scorpion-like Grimm with heavy armor on most of its body. Jaune continues to hold onto the tail while the Grimm tries to shake him off. Pyrrha stops to look at Jaune as he continues to scream.

"Pyrrha! This is not the relic! It's not! Do something!" he screams.

"Jaune! Whatever you do, don't let…" Pyrrha starts, but is interrupted as the large Grimm reels his tail back before swinging it forward, and sending Jaune flying. "…Go," She says.

Pyrrha looks at him flying for a moment before turning back to the Deathstalker as it now focuses on her. She rubs her head, smiling nervously for a second, before she takes off running away from the beast.

… _Back with Khazhak's group, Yang, and Blake…_

"Blake, did you hear that? What should we do?" Yang asks Blake, who just stares into the blue sky.

"What we should probably do now is…" Khazhak starts before looking up as well…only to see Ruby Rose falling from the sky above him.

"HEADS UUUUUUUPPPPPPP!" Ruby yells above them, still falling towards them.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Again, just a short one for now. The next one will be longer. Hope this was good for you guys. Like I said before, this will be a strong canon story for my team. Until next time, please Read and Review.**


	12. Chapter 7: The Trials

**Here we are at Chapter 7. This one will be longer than normal due to the fight scenes. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 7. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: The Trials**

… _Back with Khazhak's group…_

"Blake did you hear that? What should we do?" Yang asks, waving to her partner, Blake, who just looks and points up above them and then everyone looks up.

"What the hell?!" Khazhak yells, seeing Ruby falling from the sky.

"HEADS UUUUUPPPPP!" Ruby yells, falling towards them.

Khazhak gets ready to catch her, but before she reaches him, Ruby is suddenly hit by Jaune Arc as he comes flying in and they both crash into a nearby tree.

"Didn't see that coming," Khazhak says, slightly shocked at the turn of events.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky," Blake asks Yang.

"I…" Yang starts, but gets interrupted by Lloyd.

"No, that was just a really big rain drop with a red hood on it," Lloyd says, trying to sound funny, and ends up getting hit on the head by Porphyrius. "Ow!"

Next, they see some trees falling down as an Ursa comes through and they hear the voice of a hyperactive girl from behind it.

"Yeeehhhaaaa!" a female voice says.

There is a pink explosion behind it and the Grimm fall onto the ground, and the girl, showing to be Nora Valkyrie, rolls over it onto the ground. She gets up and looks at the dead Grimm.

"Aww, it's broken." She says, before jumping back onto the dead monster to check for signs of life.

Next her partner, Lie Ren, comes out from behind them, hunching over and trying to catch his breath.

"Nora! Please…don't ever do that again," Ren says, still slightly out of breath.

He looks over to see that Nora has already gone and has reappeared in front of one of the chess pieces at the temple, a white rook piece. She inspects it for a moment before picking it up and balancing it on her foot, and then on her head.

"Ooohhh. I'm queen of the castle~. I'm queen of the castle~," She sings.

"NORA!" Ren yells.

"Heh-heh. Coming Ren!" She happily says, the piece falling into her hand and walks back to him.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asks Yang again.

"And you guys say I'm crazy," Lloyd says to his group.

"You are crazy. She's just a different kind of crazy," Reaper tells him.

Now, they hear another roar and look over to see Pyrrha running through the trees as the Deathstalker from before chases her, knocking some trees down in the process. She jumps in between the Grimm's right claw before rolling under its left and continues running.

"This just keeps getting better and better," Khazhak mutters at the scene, then notices Ruby land next to him and Yang. "Ruby?"

"Ruby?!" Yang says, happy to see her sister again.

"Yang! Khazhak!" Ruby says, about to give them a high-five.

"Nora!" Nora says, popping up in between them, making them pull back in surprise.

"Did she just run all the way over here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake asks once again.

Everyone idly stands by, while Yang looks like she is about to explode.

"Here comes the fireworks," Porphyrius mutters as he slowly steps back.

"Grrr! I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!" Yang shouts, her eyes in their red color, and fire exploding behind her from her semblance.

Yang starts to calm down, as Ren joins the group, and everyone remains stationary for two seconds.

"Well, it's been two seconds," Lloyd says, only to shrink back when Yang gives him a death glare.

"Um, Yang," Ruby gets her sister's attention, to which she just hunches over in defeat, and points upwards.

Everyone looks up to see Weiss Schnee hanging off one of the talons of a very large Nevermore.

"How could you leave me?!" Weiss yells, hanging onto the talon as the Nevermore flies overhead.

"I said jump," Ruby says.

"So, you're big idea was to ride a Giant Nevermore? Okay, never met anyone crazy enough to do that," Khazhak notes as they all look up.

"She's gonna fall," Blake mentions.

"She'll be fine," Ruby says.

"Maybe she'll go splat when she hits the ground," Porphyrius hopefully says, earning a hit on the head by Khazhak. "Ow! It was just an idea."

"She's falling," Ren bluntly says.

They all see the Schnee heiress falling from the Grimm towards them. Jaune, who finally gets back on his feet whilst still in the tree sees this and jumps to catch her. However, Reaper releases one of his skull phantoms that manages to catch Weiss on top of it before Jaune can catch her. Jaune ends up falling and hitting the ground hard while Weiss is safely lowered to the ground.

"Ow…" Jaune groans in pain.

Weiss looks at Reaper, who slightly bows to her, "Well, I suppose I can thank you for the rescue, Mr…" she trails off.

"Just Reaper is fine. And no thanks are necessary," he replies.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha continues to run from the Deathstalker until it knocks her over to the rest of the group.

"Great, the gang's all here. Now, we can die together," Yang sarcastically says.

"Not if I can help it. Yaaahhh!" Ruby replies before running at the Deathstalker.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang yells, scared for her sister.

"What is that idiot doing? Lloyd, with me!" Khazhak orders, and he and Lloyd run after Ruby.

Ruby pulls out her sniper-scythe, fires it behind her to give her some speed, and approaches the Deathstalker. As she is about to strike it, the scorpion-like Grimm knocks her back with its claws.

"Don-don't worry. Totally fine!" Ruby nervously says while getting back up, trying to act confident.

"Ruby, get away from there!" Khazhak yells, trying to get to her in time.

Ruby turns around to see the Grimm. She fires her rifle at it, which does nothing, and starts running away from it as it chases her.

"Ruby!" Yang yells, and begins running after her.

As Ruby continues running, the Nevermore flies overhead and shoots its feathers at her like bullets. Ruby's cloak gets snagged on one feather while the rest block the path for Khazhak, Lloyd, and Yang. Ruby tries to pull herself free, but is having little success.

"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang screams for her sister.

"Get out of there Ruby!" Khazhak yells as well.

"I'm trying!" Ruby yells back, and soon looks up to see the Deathstalker prepare its stinger to strike her, and comes at her.

"Ruby!" Yang yells, but then a white blur suddenly shoots by her.

Ruby closes her eyes, waiting for the inevitable, but it never comes.

"You are so childish," a voice says.

Ruby opens her eyes, "Weiss…" she says and sees Weiss with her sword shoved into the ground, and ice around them.

"And dim-witted. And hyperactive. And don't get me started on your fighting style. And I suppose I can be a bit…difficult. But, if we're going to do this. We're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be…nicer," Weiss says.

"I'm not trying to show off. I want you to know I can do this," Ruby replies.

"You're fine," Weiss says and walks past her.

"Normal knees," Ruby happily mutters to herself.

Ruby gets back up to see the Deathstalker's stinger caught in Weiss' ice. However, the Grimm quickly frees itself from the ice, shocking both girls, and attacks them. But before it can get them, a silver figure gets in the way, catching both claws in its own.

"Hey, that's no way to ask a girl out!" The figure, turning out to be Lloyd, says while holding the Grimm back with his incredible strength.

Suddenly, Khazhak jumps over him and slams his swords onto the Grimm's face. Next he swings them upwards, pushing the Grimm back before firing his gun mechanisms at its underside, knocking it back. At that moment, Lloyd jumps and punches the Deathstalker onto its right side, immobilizing it. With his job done, Khazhak turns to the two girls.

"You two okay?" he asks.

"We're fine. Thank you Khazhak," Ruby answers, happy at their rescue.

Ruby then turns to see Yang running over to her and gives her a crushing bear hug.

"I'm so happy you're okay!" Yang says, releasing Ruby.

"You need to be more careful Ruby. Not every Grimm you face can be defeated by blindly rushing in at it, guns blazing. Remember that," Khazhak sternly tells her.

"…I will." Ruby says, her head hanging down.

Khazhak sighs before placing his hand on her head, giving it a soft rub.

"Just be careful from now on, little rose," Khazhak says, not noticing the blush on Ruby's face.

"Well I will remember you two saving my baby sister. Thanks you guys," Yang says as she winks at them.

They all then look up to see the Nevermore flying away before circling back for them.

"Guys, that thing's circling back. What are we gonna do?" Jaune says, pointing at the flying Grimm.

"Look, there's no sense in dilly-dallying. Our objective is right in front of us," Weiss says, looking over to the remaining chess pieces.

"She's right. Our mission is to get an artifact and make it back to the cliffs," Ruby says, causing Weiss to smirk. "There's no point in fighting these things."

"Run and live. That is an idea I can get behind," Jaune says.

"That's only because a while ago, you were screaming like a baby and practically wetting yourself like one too," Porphyrius says, causing Jaune to laugh nervously.

Ruby picks up a white knight piece while Jaune picks a white rook piece. During this time, the Deathstalker starts to get back onto its feet.

"Time we left," Ren notes.

"Agreed," Reaper adds.

"Right. Let's go," Ruby says, and starts moving along with everyone else.

However, Yang and Khazhak stay behind a moment longer, eyeing Ruby as she stands on a rock and motions for everyone to follow her, to which Blake notices.

"What is it?" She asks.

"Nothing," Yang says, smiling before following the group, with Blake behind her.

" _Perhaps Ruby may have what it takes to be a true huntress. However, she still has much more to learn,"_ Khazhak thinks before moving with his group.

The twelve initiates run over to another set of ancient ruins, with a bridge connecting from a cliff to a temple standing in between a deep canyon. As they move, they see the Nevermore flying overhead and land on the top of the ruins in front of them. They take cover behind some pillars.

"Well, that's great," Yang displeasingly notes.

Jaune turns around to see that the Deathstalker from before break through the forest, closing in on them.

"Oh, man! Run!" Jaune says and everyone starts moving.

Khazhak, however, decides to take a different path.

"Guys, with me," Khazhak orders his teammates and they all separate from the group, avoiding the battle, while the Nevermore takes flight from the ruins.

Meanwhile, Ren looks to Nora. "Nora, distract it," He says, and starts moving.

Nora avoids the feathers shot from the Nevermore before pulling out her grenade launcher and starts firing a few shots at the Grimm. One round hits its head, causing the Grimm to fly away. Nora doesn't notice the Deathstalker approaching her from behind, but luckily she gets saved as Ren and Blake attack its face with their weapons while Weiss uses her glyphs to get her and Nora away from the Grimm. They all start running to the bridge of the ruins, and Pyrrha notices the Deathstalker following them.

"Go!" She shouts, turning her weapon into its rifle form and firing at the Grimm as Ren also fires off his auto-pistols as the rest make it to the bridge.

With the Deathstalker blocking one path, the group run across the bridge, but then the Nevermore comes crashing into the bridge, destroying it, and dividing the group with Pyrrha, Ren, and Blake on the side with the Deathstalker, and everyone else on the other side. Ruby turns her weapon into its rifle form and starts shooting at it while Jaune gets back up from the impact. He looks over to see Pyrrha, Ren, and Blake fighting the Deathstalker, with Ren and Pyrrha shooting at it while Blake gets knocked back by the Grimm. Meanwhile, Khazhak and his group watch the battle from a safe distance. However, Lloyd is getting impatient.

"Come on, they need our help out there! Plus, they're getting all the fun!" Lloyd says, about to move before he gets stopped by Khazhak.

"No. This is their trial, not ours. If they can't handle something as easy as one Deathstalker and one Giant Nevermore, then they'll never make it as true huntsmen and huntresses. But don't worry Lloyd, our trial is approaching. Porphyrius…" Khazhak states, then looks over to Porphyrius, who nods.

"Ah, I can feel it. Something is coming to us, and it's as large as what they are fighting. If the fight keeps going at this pace, then our trial should begin shortly after theirs ends," Porphyrius says.

"Good. Then for now, let us watch the show and see what our companions are capable of," Khazhak says, crossing his arms and observing the battle.

By this point, Blake has joined up with Ruby, Weiss, and Yang on their side while Jaune and Nora fight alongside Ren and Pyrrha. The group fighting the Nevermore regroup as the Grimm begins turning back towards them.

"It's tougher than it looks," Blake notes.

"Then let's hit it with everything we got," Yang says while cocking her shotgun gauntlets.

Ruby readies her scythe in its full form, while Blake changes her sword into its pistol form, and Weiss spins the revolver chamber in her dust rapier sword. When the Grimm gets close, they all fire, with Ruby, Yang, and Blake firing rounds at the Grimm while Weiss sends some ice shots at it thanks to the dust in her sword. However, the combined assault seems to have little effect as the Grimm smashes into the ruins, destroying it. The four girls then run along the falling debris of the ruins, with Weiss skating over some pieces, Ruby firing her sniper-scythe behind her and propelling her upwards, Yang using the same method as her with her gauntlets, and Blake running up along one of the pillars still standing. They all make it onto the platform.

"None of this is working," Weiss says.

" _She's right. But what do we do? How can we beat that thing? Do I even have what it takes to beat it?"_ Ruby thinks, a slight sorrowful expression on her face.

"RUBY ROSE!" a voice calls to her.

She looks over to see the voice coming from Khazhak as he watches the scene unfold.

"Show me what you are capable of! Prove to me and everyone here that you have what it takes to become a huntress!" he screams.

"… _He's right. I've always wanted to become a huntress, and now the time has come to prove that I have what it takes,"_ Ruby thinks, getting her confidence back.

She looks over to see Blake swinging on one pillar with her chain scythe and then sees Yang on top of another pillar, firing at the Nevermore.

"I have a plan. Cover me!" Ruby says before firing her scythe behind her, sending her in one direction, while Weiss moves in another.

"Show me what you can do with your comrades, little rose," Khazhak says as he looks on to the scene.

Meanwhile, Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora face off against the Deathstalker, who pulls its stinger out of the bridge from an earlier attack, causing it to start to break.

"We gotta move," Jaune orders the others and they move towards the Grimm

The Deathstalker attacks with its right claw first, but Pyrrha blocks it with her shield before countering it with her sword. The Grimm then attacks with its left claw, but that is blocked by Jaune with his shield, and then Pyrrha jumps over him, attacking the claw. Ren rushes in, firing his auto-pistols before jumping onto its tail and shooting at the joint with the stinger and the tail. Nora fires her weapon in its grenade launcher form at the Grimm, but it blocks the shots with its claws, pushing Jaune and Pyrrha back. Pyrrha fires her weapon in its spear form and it lodges itself into one of the Grimm's eyes. The Grimm swings its tail, causing Ren to fly off and collide with a wall of the ruins.

"Ren!" Nora yells.

Ren falls onto the ground from the hit. Jaune sees the stinger of the Grimm dangling from its tail and turns to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha!" he yells.

"Done," she replies and throws her shield at the joint, causing the stinger to fall and impale itself on the Grimm's head as the shield flies back to her.

"Nora, nail it!" Jaune orders her.

"Heads up!" Nora says, jumping onto Pyrrha's shield while sitting on her hammer, firing it, and sending her into the sky.

Once she starts to fall back down, she fires her hammer again, sending her spinning towards the Grimm. She slams her hammer into the stinger, pushing it deep into the Grimm's head, killing it, and causing the bridge to propel Jaune and Pyrrha over them. Pyrrha grabs her sword in mid-air while Nora fires her hammer again, sending her over the Grimm as it falls into the canyon. They all land safely, with Pyrrha being the only one landing on her feet. Ren walks over to them, panting for a moment, before collapsing onto the ground next to them. They all look over at the Nevermore as it flies around the ruins, with Yang still firing at it. She manages to land one shot onto its right eye before it comes around towards her. She jumps in the air, in front of its mouth, and manages to keep its beak open with her left arm, her legs, and her impressive strength.

"I. Hope. You're. Hungry!" She yells, firing her right shotgun gauntlet multiple times into its mouth.

She turns and see that they are flying towards a cliff side, and backflips out of the Grimm's mouth, landing on another bridge of the ruins as the Grimm crashes into the cliff side. The Nevermore quickly lands on its feet on another section of the ruins and screeches out to the girls. Yang looks up and sees Weiss coming towards her and Ruby and Blake behind. Quickly seeing what Ruby has planned, Yang rushes past Weiss as she moves towards the Grimm. As the Grimm is about to fly off again, Weiss jumps into the air, and shoves her sword into the ground beneath the Grimm, causing ice to form that ensnares the Grimm's tail, immobilizing it in place. Weiss uses her glyphs to retreat from the Grimm and regroups with the others. Meanwhile, Blake gets on top of one pillar, and throws her sword in its chain scythe form at Yang, who catches it and locks it in one her pillar while Blake pulls the ribbon around hers. Ruby then fires her sniper scythe, sending her onto the stretched out ribbon. Weiss forms another glyph and then reverses her hand position, causing the glyph to change color from pale blue to black. When Ruby touches it, the glyph holds her in place, turning the whole scenario into one large slingshot.

"Of course you would come up with this idea," Weiss says.

"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asks.

"Hmph. Can I?" Weiss sarcastically replies.

"Can-," Ruby begins to ask.

"Of course I can!" Weiss finishes for her.

Ruby smiles before cocking her sniper scythe. Weiss spins her revolver around before swinging her sword, launching Ruby. Ruby flies in the air, firing off multiple shots to keep her moving as she closes in on the Grimm. She catches the Grimm's neck in her scythe, and lands on the side of the cliffs. Weiss makes a number of glyphs going upwards to the top for Ruby and then Ruby begins running up the canyon wall, firing off more shots to keep her moving, and pulling the Nevermore along by the neck. When she reaches the top, she fires one more shot, which decapitates the Grimm, killing it, and landing on top of the cliff. Everyone looks on as the Grimm's dead body falls into the canyon.

"Wow," Jaune mutters, awestruck at the display of skill before him.

Ruby walks over to the cliff and looks over everyone as rose petals come off from her cloak. She takes a moment and looks over to Khazhak, who has slight smirk on his face.

"Not bad, little rose. Not bad at all," Khazhak mutters.

"Damn, she actually sliced that Nevermore's head off. That was awesome," Lloyd notes.

A moment later, Khazhak and his group meet up with Jaune's group.

"Good work taking out that Grimm, for a bunch of beginners anyway," Khazhak says.

"Hold on. You didn't even fight with us. How can you say that?" Jaune questions him.

"That was your trial, not ours. It wasn't our place to interfere. Don't worry, I'm not gonna have you help us with our trial," Khazhak answers.

"Wait, what trial?" Pyrrha asks, and immediately they all hear an extremely loud roar from the forest behind them.

"That one," Khazhak says. "Don't interfere, and don't let Ruby and the others interfere either," he says as his group turn their backs to the others.

Khazhak and his group look back to see a new Grimm approaching them. This Grimm turns out to be a Gryphon Grimm, a large one. Jaune and the others look on in horror as the Grimm lands in front of Khazhak's group. Ruby jumps from the cliff, using the high-recoil from her weapon to soften her decent towards the others, When they regroup, they run over and Weiss uses her glyphs to get them across the canyon onto the other side. As they were about to assist Khazhak's group, Pyrrha stops them.

"What are you doing? We have to help them!" Ruby shouts.

"Khazhak said that we can't interfere. He said that we already passed our trials, and now they have to pass theirs," Pyrrha answers her.

"Ruby Rose…" Khazhak calls out to her, and Ruby looks over to him staring at her.

"You have shown me what those who live in the light can do. Now, allow me to show you what those who live in the darkness are capable of," Khazhak utters to her, and turns to the enormous Grimm.

"Khazhak…" Ruby mutters, worried not about the fight, but about what Khazhak said. _"What kind of pain did you go through to feel that way?"_ she wonders as Khazhak and his group prepare for battle.

Khazhak draws his swords as his team stand against the gigantic Griffon in front of them.

"Team, breaker formation," Khazhak orders, and they all start running towards the Grimm.

The Griffon charges at them, lunging at Khazhak who runs straight at it. Khazhak fires his swords' guns, propelling him above the Grimm. He lands on his back and starts running along it, slashing at its back as he goes. During this moment, Lloyd comes up front, clawing at the Grimm's face, while Porphyrius runs along its left side, firing his arm rifles, and Reaper runs along its right side, slashing at its legs with his twin scythe. Khazhak jumps off the Grimm, landing behind it before turning around and running underneath its body towards Lloyd. The Griffon attacks Lloyd with its left claw, but he blocks the attack with his claws, and then fires at its face with his hand cannons. The rounds seem to have little effect as the Griffon head-butts Lloyd away, only for Khazhak to appear below its skull and slash at its beak with his right sword. Meanwhile, Reaper jumps above the Grimm, separating his twin scythe into its dual form, and stabbing the Grimm's back. Porphyrius runs along the Grimm's right side now, still firing his arm rifles at the Grimm's legs, slowly chipping away at their strength. The Grimm manages to shake Reaper of its back, and flaps its wings, starting to rise into the air. Khazhak looks to Porphyrius.

"Porphyrius, ground it!" Khazhak orders.

Porphyrius aims his guns, dark purple circles appearing around them from his semblance, which allows him to fire compressed gravity shots at his opponents. When these shots hit a target, they become spherical weights that pull down the enemy.

"Dark void anchor!" Porphyrius shouts, firing his gravity shots at the Grimm.

When the shots hit, many weights appear, forcing the Grimm to fall back onto the ground. Next, Khazhak and Lloyd run at the grounded Grimm, with Porphyrius and Reaper not too far behind them.

"Lloyd, Steel Rain!" Khazhak shouts to Lloyd.

"Batter up!" Lloyd says.

Khazhak combines his dual swords into a two-handed great sword, and swings his sword at Lloyd, who jumps onto the blade before Khazhak swings it, sending him into the air. When Lloyd starts to fall towards the Grimm, he activates his semblance, coating his body in a steel skin-like armor.

"STEEL SMASH!" he yells, falling to the Grimm and delivering a pulverizing punch onto the Grimm's back, keeping it down as Porphyrius' weights disappear.

Khazhak separates his great sword back into its dual sword form before connecting them again, only this time connecting them at the ends of the handles, turning it into a dual naginata form. Ruby takes notice of the weapon transformations and can't help but admire them.

"So that's what he meant by 'a few other features to make it more versatile," Ruby says, gazing in awe at Khazhak's swords.

Khazhak spins his weapon before throwing it at the Griffon's right wing, completely severing it from its body. Reaper follows it up by throwing his twin scythe at the Grimm's left wing, slicing it off, and preventing the Grimm from flying again. Both retrieve their weapons as the Grimm gets back up and starts swinging its claws at the four boys, trying to take them out. The four warriors evade the attacks before regrouping in front of the Griffon. The Griffon screeches at them before running at them for another attack.

"Let's finish this. Reaper, put it on a leash," Khazhak orders Reaper.

Reaper runs at the Griffon, and fires one of his hidden wire-knives at the Grimm, the weapon wrapping around the Grimm's neck. Reaper moves around it and holds the Grimm back with Porphyrius giving him support.

"Lloyd, give me a lift!" Khazhak turns to Lloyd.

"Going up!" Lloyd says, laughing while having a claw out for Khazhak.

Khazhak jumps onto the claw and Lloyd throws him up high into the air. Khazhak fires his swords' guns, keeping him going higher until he reaches a suitable height. He combines his swords into their great sword form, raising it above him as he starts falling towards the ground. He fires his weapon, causing him to spin as he makes his dissent. When he gets close, Reaper retracts his wire-knife as Khazhak swings his large sword, slicing the Grimm's entire body in half before landing on the ground. He then jumps up in front of the Grimm's body and performs a horizontal slash at the center of the two halves, turning it into four separate parts before landing back onto the ground as the four pieces fall behind him. With the Grimm dead, Khazhak separates his swords and places them back onto his belt in their non-combat forms. His group link back up in front of the dead Grimm as it starts disintegrating.

"That was awesome~!" Lloyd shouts, pumping his fists into the air.

"Looks like another job well done, right Khazhak?" Reaper asks his leader.

However, Khazhak doesn't answer and just looks over to Ruby Rose, who has a slight smile on her face at their victory. Khazhak can't help but give a slight smirk back at her.

… _Later that day, back at Beacon…_

The initiates all stand in the amphitheater as Professor Ozpin announces the formation of the first-year teams.

"…Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as…Team JNPR (Juniper). Led by…Jaune Arc," Ozpin announces.

Nora hugs Ren while Jaune stands shocked at being appointed as team leader with Pyrrha smiling at him.

"Huh, led by?" he questions.

" _I guess Ozpin believes that is where Jaune can grow the most here at Beacon,"_ Khazhak mentally notes, slightly shocked by the announcement.

"Congratulations, young man," Ozpin says.

Pyrrha playfully punches Jaune in the shoulder, but accidently knocks him over. He looks up, still a little shocked, but Pyrrha just goes on smiling. They leave the stage as Ozpin calls on the next group.

"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you shall work together as…Team RWBY (Ruby). Led by…Ruby Rose," Ozpin announces.

Weiss stands shocked at Ruby being made the leader, as does Ruby. Blake just smiles while Yang gives Ruby a big hug.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang says joyfully in the hug.

" _I believe that is where you will grow the most, Ruby Rose. Congratulations,"_ Khazhak says, slightly smiling at the announcement.

The four girls leave the stage as Ozpin calls upon the final group.

"And finally: Porphyrius Darkwing, Lloyd Jyousai, Khazhak Rairyu, and Edom Soul Reaper. The four of you retrieved the black king pieces. From this day forward, you shall work together as…Team KEPL (Keppel). Led by…Khazhak Rairyu," Ozpin says, smiling at Khazhak.

Khazhak nods at the announcement while Reaper bows to Ozpin, and Porphyrius does nothing.

"Yeah! We're official baby!" Lloyd shouts, pumping his fists into the air.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an…interesting year," Ozpin says.

Khazhak glances back at Ruby who's smiling at him, _"It certainly seems that way…"_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. I could've written it where Team KEPL's battle with the Gryphon occurred alongside the other fights, but I've seen that in other stories before and wanted to do something a little different. Also, because it fits better with the role Team KEPL will play in regards to Team RWBY in the story, as mentors of sorts. Also, just so you know, Keppel is a shade of green. Anyway, Khazhak's group is now Team KEPL. What awaits them at Beacon Academy? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	13. Chapter 8: First Lessons

**Here we are at Chapter 8. Not much needed to be said here. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 8. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: First lessons**

After the teams were formed, everyone were sent to their new dorm rooms to unpack and prepare for their first day of classes the next day. Team KEPL grabbed their bags (the few bags they did have) and went towards their new room. After a few minutes of walking through one of the dorm buildings, they finally reach their room. However, Khazhak notices the new Team RWBY approaching a room shortly down the hall from them. Ruby notices them and qaves at them.

"Hey, Khazhak!" she greets them as she walks over to them. "I didn't get to say it earlier, but congratulations on becoming team leader," she says.

"I can say the same for you. I hope you're ready for it," Khazhak notes, noticing the slight scowl on Weiss' face behind Ruby before she enters her room.

"I'll be ready, don't worry. Well, it looks like we'll be dorm neighbors. That's nice," she says.

"Yes, well, my team and I need to unpack our things and get ready for the night, and I suggest you do the same. We have classes tomorrow. Goodnight Ruby," Khazhak says.

"Goodnight Khazhak. See you tomorrow," Ruby replies and heads back to her dorm room.

Khazhak returns to his room and enters with his team. They find four beds along with a few desks situated around the room. Seeing as how they don't really have a lot of stuff with them, they decided not to move anything around.

"Alright guys, choose your beds. I'll take this one," Khazhak says, choosing the bed on the far right.

Reaper takes the one next to his, while Porphyrius takes the left one and Lloyd takes the one closest to the bathroom on the far left. They unpack their bags, putting their clothes away and getting their gear situated. Looking out the window, Khazhak notices that the sun is almost gone, signaling the late evening.

"I call dibs on first shower," Porphyrius says before taking his pajamas and heads in before the others.

"Well, this is definitely better than sleeping under a tree somewhere," Lloyd notes.

"Yes, but that won't matter if we get expelled because YOU ended up almost killing one of the other students here for pissing you off," Reaper notes.

"Hey, I don't always go starting fights…most of the time," Lloyd notes.

Khazhak sighs, "Regardless, let's just finish getting ready for the night. I have a feeling we'll have an…interesting day tomorrow," Khazhak says.

 _...The next day after the team formation ceremony…_

It is early morning with the sun just barely starting to rise above the horizon. Khazhak Rairyu slowly opens his eyes and sits up, stretching his arms. He looks around his new dorm room that has been provided for him and his team. Aside from the beds and desks, the team added a small workshop in one corner for their weapons and gear if necessary. Khazhak looks to see his other teammates still sound asleep…well except for Lloyd who continues to snore up a storm in his bed at the far left side of the room. Khazhak gets up and changes into his usual attire. While they have their first day of classes today, his deal with Professor Ozpin exempts him and his teammates from having to wear the school uniforms. After changing and brushing his teeth, Khazhak returns to his room to see Reaper and Porphyrius waking up and getting their normal clothes on while Lloyd still remains asleep. Khazhak shakes his head before walking to Lloyd's bed and then flips the ENTIRE bed upside down, causing Lloyd to finally wake up. He manages to dig himself out of the bed burial and giving Khazhak an unamused and tired look.

"Sometimes, I really hate the fact that you wake up earlier than the rest of us. And why did you have to flip over my entire bed?" he asks.

"Because I knew that was the best way to wake you up," He replies before turning to the others. "Team KEPL, get dressed and get ready. We have our first class at 9:00 this morning. The class is Grimm Studies with Professor Port. Mount up."

The rest of the team gets dressed and they head out, walking down the hallway and passing by a few other rooms. Khazhak notices that one of the rooms they pass belongs to the newly formed Team RWBY. However, he pays little attention to it and they continue on to their first class.

… _A little Later…_

Team KEPL are among the first to reach their class. When they walk inside, they see a large man with a curvy gray mustache in a red, buttoned down shirt, black pants, and boots.

"Aw, you are the first to arrive. Welcome to Grimm Studies. I am Professor Port. I believe you four are Team KEPL?" he asks.

"Yes. I assume Professor Ozpin told you about us and our…condition for being here?" Khazhak asks.

"Yes, I am aware. As are the rest of the teachers here. Don't worry, on the battlefield, a huntsman must not focus on their appearance, but on their actions. Please, take a seat while we wait for the rest of the students to arrive before class begins," Port says.

Team KEPL take the second set of seats in the center of the classroom and wait for class to begin. As time goes by, more students show up. Soon enough, just as class is about to begin, Teams RWBY and JNPR burst through the door, falling onto the ground. They all look up to see Professor Port standing over them.

"Ah, and with ten seconds to spare. A good huntsman must always know how to make it to the battlefield before the battle starts, and make it in style. Now please, take your seats so we may begin," He says, and walks to his front desk.

"And here I thought this class would be boring," Khazhak says.

The two teams look to see Khazhak sitting with his team in the second-to-front row of the class. Weiss immediately notices their lack of school uniforms.

"Hey, we got here in time, but what about you? Why are you four not in uniform?" She asks, eyes narrowing at them.

"I made a deal with the devil, that's why," Khazhak replies, eyeing her back.

"What does that mean?" Weiss asks again.

"Oh, I was there. You see, when Professor Ozpin invited me to enroll in Beacon, he asked Khazhak and his team the same question. Khazhak said they would join, but only if they didn't have to wear the school uniforms, and Ozpin agreed," Ruby clarifies.

"Hmph. Whatever," Weiss mutters before taking her seat with her teammates sitting in front of Team KEPL with Blake and Yang to her right, and Ruby to her left.

The teams get situated as the class begins. Weiss begins taking notes, Yang and Blake listen in on the lecture, and Ruby…almost falls asleep. Meanwhile, Team KEPL prepare to take notes in the class.

"Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes, the Creatures of Grimm have many names. But I merely refer to them as prey, haha!" Professor Port vigorously says, waking Ruby up.

" _Oh great, we get one of those professors that like to talk about themselves too much. Just great,"_ Khazhak thinks, rolling his eyes as the rest of his team shake their heads at the scene.

"Uh, and you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy. Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in, Huntsmen, Huntresses," Port says, clicking his tongue and winking at Yang.

"Uh, heh-heh," Yang sarcastically chuckles, rolling her eyes, obviously grossed out at the Professor hitting on her.

" _Oh great, he's also a perverted old man,"_ Khazhak mentally says, facepalming.

"Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. From what, you ask. Why, the very world," Port says, pumping his left fist into the air.

A random student raises his fist into the air in excitement, only to have every other student in the room look at him with looks that said 'really dude.'

"That is what you are training to become, but first, a story. A tale of a young, handsome man, me. When I was a boy…" Port starts talking about his life.

" _Someone please kill me,"_ Khazhak mentally says, shaking his head while looking up.

Meanwhile, Weiss closes her eyes, starting to lose interest before she and Khazhak look over to Ruby who seems to be writing something on her paper, before focusing back on the lecture.

"Despite smelling of cabbages, my grandfather was a wise man. 'Peter,' he told me…" he continues.

Weiss and Khazhak notice Ruby snickering and turn towards her. Ruby then pulls up her paper, revealing a drawing of the professor, but with a very round body and with the name 'Professor Poop' while making a small fart noise. Yang, Blake, and Lloyd snicker at her work, while Khazhak, Porphyrius, and Reaper remain unfazed. However, Weiss scowls at it, until they are stopped by Professor Port.

"Ahem. In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero," He ends and bows. "The moral of the story, true huntsmen must be honorable…" He says while Weiss gets angrier at Ruby who is balancing a pencil, book, and an apple on one finger while having a funny look on her face. "…A true huntsmen must be dependable…" Weiss gets even angrier at Ruby, who is now asleep. "…A true huntsmen must be strategic, well-educated, and wise…" Weiss is about to explode, shaking in anger as Ruby pokes her nose.

"Looks like the Ice Queen is about to blow," Khazhak mutters, noticing the situation.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?" Port asks.

"I do, sir!" Weiss almost yells, quickly raising her hand, still holding that enraged look on her face.

"Well then, let's find out. Step forward, and face your opponent," Port says, gesturing to a cage on his right, a cage shaking with something having red-eyes inside it.

" _Looks like someone is not happy about not being named team leader,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself, quickly figuring out the reason for Weiss's angry disposition. _Let's just hope that anger of hers doesn't come back to bite her in the butt."_

A few minutes later, Weiss changed into her combat attire and drew her sword into her combat stance as she prepares to fight her opponent while everyone else watches in anticipation. She looks towards the cage next to Professor Port as a creature within growls in anger.

"Go Weiss!" Yang cheers.

"Fight well," Blake adds, holding a little red flag with "RWBY" on it in white.

"Yeah, represent Team RWBY!" Ruby further cheers.

"Ruby, I'm trying to focus!" Weiss lashes out at her leader, obviously still angry at her.

"Oh, um, sorry," Ruby dejectedly replies.

 _"Someone doesn't know how to be a team player,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself, noticing their exchange.

He looks over to Porphyrius, hearing him growl at Weiss, and gives him a look that says "calm down," causing Porphyrius to back off.

"Alright, let the match begin," Professor Port says before slicing off the lock on the cage with his axe, releasing the creature within.

The creature turns out to be a Boarbatusk. The Boarbatusk immediately charges at Weiss, who counters by dealing a spinning slash at its right side before rolling out of the way. She stands back up as the Grimm turns back to her.

"Haha, wasn't expecting that, were you," Port says as he watches the exchange from the sidelines.

"Hang in there Weiss!" Ruby cheers her on.

"Boarbatusks are known for their speed and defense, but do not possess that much stability in their attacks. If she can trip it up a bit, she can kill him easily," Reaper analyzes the fight.

"Or maybe the Grimm will turn her into road kill," Porphyrius adds.

"Porphyrius, enough," Khazhak orders him, to which he relents.

Meanwhile, Weiss skates across the floor as the Grimm charges at her again. However, at the last second, the Grimm turns its head, causing Weiss's sword to get stuck between its tusks as he shakes her around. She tries to pull her sword free while holding her ground, but is having trouble doing so.

"Bold, new approach, I like it!" Port says, as Weiss continues to struggle.

"Come on Weiss, show it whose boss!" Ruby encourages her.

Weiss takes a moment to look at her, which causes her to lose her focus on the Boarbatusk that suddenly pulls her sword out of her grasp and throws it behind him and then knocking her back.

"Ho-ho, now what will you do without your weapon?" Port inquires.

Weiss looks up to see the Grimm charging at her again, and narrowly dodges the attack, causing the Grimm to crash into a nearby desk while Weiss runs over to retrieve her weapon. She manages to grab her sword, sliding on the floor as she does so.

"Weiss, go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-," Ruby starts.

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss yells at her, causing Ruby to shrink back in sadness.

"Now she's starting to really piss me off," Khazhak mutters at the exchange.

The Boarbatusk begins spinning its body like a wheel and races over to Weiss. However, Weiss cast one of her glyphs to block the attack, causing the Grimm to fall onto its back, leaving its gut wide open. She jumps onto another glyph aimed at the Grimm before launching herself from it, stabbing the Grimm in its belly, and ending the match.

"Bravo! Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress-in-training," Port says while Weiss catches her breath. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and stay vigilant. Class dismissed."

Everyone begins to leave the class while Weiss gives Ruby an angry look before walking out of the room.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" Jaune asks to no one in particular while the rest of Team RWBY look at each other before Ruby runs off to catch up with Weiss.

"Weiss!" Ruby calls out, not noticing that Khazhak and Reaper are trailing behind her to listen in on the conversation.

"What?!" Weiss angrily asks.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-," Ruby starts to ask.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?! You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance," Weiss criticizes her.

"Gah, what did I do?!" Ruby asks.

"That's just it! You've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so!" Weiss further criticizes Ruby.

"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all that talk about working together? I thought you believed in acting as a team," Ruby sadly asks her.

"Not a team led by you. I've studied, and trained, and quite frankly, I deserve better," Weiss says, crossing her arms and turning away from Ruby who tries reaching out to her, but fails. "Ozpin made a mistake," Weiss says before walking away, leaving Ruby woefully with her head down.

Meanwhile, Khazhak clenches his fists as he watches the exchange before taking a deep breath and making his move.

"Reaper, I'll take care of Ruby. You go handle Weiss. As much as it pains me to say it, you need to guide her off of this path she is walking on and onto the right one. And I need to offer Ruby some encouragement," Khazhak tells Reaper before they both move to their respective objectives.

Reaper walks past Ruby, but as Khazhak reaches Ruby, she turns around to face him as another person joins the fray.

"Hm. Now that didn't seem to go very well," This person turns out to be Professor Ozpin.

"What gave that away, professor?" Khazhak sarcastically asks.

"Is she right? Did you make a mistake?" Ruby sorrowfully asks him.

"That remains to be seen," Ozpin replies, smiling at her.

"He's right Ruby, I highly doubt you being made team leader was a mistake. If Professor Ozpin chose you to be team leader, then he must have a reason for it," Khazhak says while looking at Ozpin.

… _Meanwhile, with Weiss…_

Weiss walks through the hallway until she comes to an exit leading out to a balcony with some chairs stationed around the small area. She sees Professor Port standing at the edge, watching the sun begin to set. She walks up to him.

"Professor Port," Weiss acknowledges him.

"Ah, Miss Schnee. And to what do I owe this fine pleasure?" Port greets her.

"I...I enjoyed your lecture," she comments.

"Of course you did child. You have the blood of a true huntress in you," he says.

"You really think so?" she asks hopefully.

"Most surely," he replies, but then Weiss starts to cast her eyes downward.

"Hm, something is troubling you?" he inquires.

'Yes sir," Weiss reluctantly answers.

"Dear girl, confess to me your strife!" he offers.

"Well…I-I think I should've been the leader of Team RWBY," Weiss says.

"…That's preposterous," Port replies.

… _Back with Ruby, Khazhak, and Professor Ozpin…_

"What do you mean?" Ruby asks them.

"I mean it's only been one day. Ruby…I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet. But at this moment, I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them. Do you?" Ozpin asks as he leans closer to her.

"Ruby, we are at Beacon Academy, a school. And schools are for people our age to learn, and more importantly, to grow. If Ozpin made you leader, then he must believe that that is where you can grow the most as a warrior, and as a person. And I agree with him," Khazhak adds.

… _With Weiss…_

"Excuse me?!" Weiss shockingly asks Professor Port.

"I've believed in Professor Ozpin for many years, and the man's never once led me astray," Port says.

"So you would just blindly accept his decision even after seeing how exceptional I am?" Weiss asks him.

"With all due respect, your exceptional skill on the battlefield is only matched by your poor attitude," he answers.

"How dare you?!" Weiss angrily retorts.

"My point exactly. I see a girl before me who has spent her entire life getting exactly what she wanted," Port says.

"That's not even remotely true," Weiss counters, crossing her arms while Port just raises his left eyebrow, unconvinced. "Well, not entirely true," Weiss continues.

"Maybe not, but he is right about your attitude and what he sees in you," a slight robotic voice utters.

They both turn around to see Reaper walking up to them.

"The fact remains, Weiss Schnee, that you cannot hope to be a leader of a team if you continue to act like a spoiled brat that did not get what she wanted," Reaper says as he walks in between them on Weiss's right side. "I sincerely doubt Ozpin would change his mind if this is how you are going to act in this situation," Reaper says.

… _Back with Ruby, Khazhak, and Ozpin…_

"Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly. If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you," Ozpin teaches her, to which she looks down before looking up again with a smile.

"He's right, Ruby. As the leader of my group, I knew I had to be at my best for them, otherwise why would they have stayed with me as long as they have?" he says.

… _Back with Weiss, Reaper, and Professor Port…_

"Like Mr. Reaper just said, so the outcome did not fall in your favor. Do you really believe that acting in such a manner would cause those in power to reconsider their decision?" Port asks Weiss.

"I believe Ozpin chose Ruby over you, one, because of the way you act, and two, because that is the position she is most suited for. While she has shown actual care for her comrades, you have basically been looking down on them, making them out to be trash. Can you honestly tell me that people would follow you into battle when you treat them that way?" Reaper asks Weiss, to which she is unable to answer them as she drops her arms and turns to them.

"Exactly. So instead of fretting over what you don't have, savor what you do. Hone your skills, perfect every technique, and be not the best leader, but the best person you can be," Port says, making Weiss think for a moment before showing a small smile.

"Thank you Professor Port. I can take it from here," Reaper says.

"Very well, good day to you Miss Schnee and Mr. Reaper," Port says before walking away.

"Listen Weiss, you are skilled as a warrior, but if you cannot learn to work with others, and more importantly, learn when to listen to someone who is your leader, then you will not survive out in the real world," Reaper tells her.

"Well, that's easy for you to say. While Khazhak may be a brute, at least he acts like a leader," Weiss retorts.

"Well, it did not always go that way before. Back then, the four of us didn't always get along," Reaper says, shocking Weiss. "When we first became a team, we didn't exactly trust each other because we did not know each other that well, and we all had our own personal issues as well. However, eventually we settled on Khazhak being the leader, although at the time it was because he was the one that recruited us. But over time, he learned how to be a proper leader for us, and earned our trust and our loyalty. So it was then that we decided to be the best teammates and be worthy of his leadership just as he works to be the best leader for us…I believe Ruby can be the best leader for your team because she will learn and grow," Reaper continues before placing a hand on Weiss's right shoulder. "But only if she has help from good teammates like you to help her become a good leader. Do you think you can do that?" Reaper asks her.

"…I…I can try," Weiss hesitantly says.

"That is all that I ask. And you never know, Ruby may become a better leader than you thought possible," Reaper says before preparing to leave.

… _Back with Ruby, Khazhak, and Ozpin…_

"You have been burdened with a daunting responsibility Ruby. I advise you take some time to think about how you will uphold it," Ozpin says before walking away, leaving just Ruby and Khazhak.

"Now do you see the importance of being a leader and why Ozpin chose you?" Khazhak asks.

"…Yeah, I see it now. I need to be worthy of their trust as a leader, and I will prove myself," Ruby says, determination in her words.

"Good. That's all I needed to here, little rose," Khazhak says as he turns to leave.

"Khazhak?" Ruby calls out, causing him to turn around…only to end up with Ruby wrapping her arms around him in a gentle hug. "Thanks Khazhak. Ever since we first met, you've been helping me get out of tight situations or teaching me things that can help me become a better huntress."

Unsure of what to do in this situation, Khazhak hesitantly wraps his arms around Ruby's smaller form and patting her on the back.

"Khazhak, can I ask you something?" Ruby asks.

"Um, what is it?" Khazhak asks back.

"What did you go through when you were younger? You talk about living in darkness and you move as if you have been in countless battles. You have scars all over your chest and arms. I just can't help but be worried about what kind of pain you went through before we met," Ruby replies, hugging him tighter.

Khazhak sighs, "I can't tell you everything right now. What I can tell you is that I have been in one battle after another ever since I left my home when I was twelve."

"Since you were twelve?!" Ruby says, looking up to him.

"Let me put it to you this way Ruby. Hold onto these peaceful times that you have, and hold onto that light in your soul. Because you never know when they may be taken from you, and you may not be able to get them back ever again," Khazhak says, slowly releasing Ruby from his embrace.

"Khazhak…" Ruby mutters before getting a determined look in her eyes. "Then I'll just have to help you get back that light of yours," Ruby says, causing Khazhak to go slightly wide-eyed for a moment.

"I do not believe that it will be that easy Ruby. My light burnt out a long time ago," Khazhak says, trying to dissuade her.

"Well I still won't give up," Ruby retorts.

"…Then I guess I'll have to wait and see if you can succeed," Khazhak says before leaving to return to his dorm room while Ruby looks out onto the balcony to see Reaper leaving Weiss and Weiss looking out into the sunset, deep in thought, all the while having a smile on her face.

… _In Team KEPL's room…_

The members of Team KEPL had already changed into their night attire and were getting ready to head in themselves. Khazhak is staring out of their window for a moment, deep in thought.

" _Help me get my light back, huh? I don't know if that will be possible. With the things I've seen…The things I've done. Is it truly possible to regain what I had lost so long ago…Father, Mother, Voshkie'ahk,"_ Khazhak thinks, looking up to the night sky.

"Khazhak, you should get some sleep. We got a long day tomorrow," Porphyrius says as he and Lloyd get ready to go to sleep.

"I will, don't worry," Khazhak says. "Reaper, how did things go with Weiss Schnee?" he asks his partner.

"I believe that she has a lot to learn. But I also believe that she will learn in time, and will become stronger for it," Reaper says.

"I doubt that. She's a Schnee, remember? They care about no one but themselves," Porphyrius says with a visible scowl on his face. "Khazhak, why do you believe that she is different from the rest of her stupid family?" he asks.

"I know you hate their family Porphyrius, and justifiably so. I'm no fan of theirs as well, and believe me…One day, Weiss' father will face my judgment for what he did to you. But, as I have said before, you need to let go of that anger of yours and your thirst for vengeance. For they will only destroy you in the end. More importantly, you shouldn't judge every book by its cover. Weiss may carry the same last name, but there may be a chance that she is not like the rest of them. And I believe that the rest of Team RWBY can help her grow beyond their ways. We just have to give it some time," Khazhak says.

"Whatever," Porphyrius says before rolling over with his back to him as he falls asleep along with Lloyd, who went to sleep in his own bed.

"What about you? How did things go with Ruby?" Reaper asks.

"I set her on the right path…I sense something about her. She may be more special than she realizes. And I will see what I can do to help her grow into a true huntress," Khazhak informs him.

"Oh yes, she definitely seems special, if she hugged you without dying and having you hug her back," Reaper says in a slight teasing tone.

Khazhak turns to him, slightly shocked that Reaper knew about that incident before speaking, "Tell Lloyd about that, and I'll throw you off the top of Ozpin's tower and watch you go splat," Khazhak warns him.

Reaper chuckles, "Your secret's safe with me. I just thought that it was interesting that you would be in a situation like that. I have a feeling you may be put into similar situations like that in the future…and that you may not mind them at all," Reaper says before going to sleep as well.

Khazhak looks at the night sky one more time before heading to his bed and letting sleep take over.

" _I guess we'll see how things go in the future. Maybe…I might have a chance of regaining what I had lost…with Ruby's help. I just hope she doesn't end up losing her own light in the process."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Team KEPL take their first steps to helping Team RWBY become true huntresses. Will Team KEPL's aid help Team RWBY grow into something greater than themselves? Until then, please Read and Review…Seriously, leave me some more reviews. I'm really curious about what people think of my story so far.**


	14. Chapter 9: Red vs Blue (not the show)

**Here we are at Chapter 9. This chapter wasn't actually in my original version for this story, but I've decided to expand it with a few extra chapters whenever necessary. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 9. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Red vs Blue (not the show)**

A few days have passed since Weiss' yelling episode at Ruby. Luckily, thanks to some wise words from Reaper and Professor Port, Weiss has learned to accept Ruby as her leader and has been getting along with her more often. Meanwhile, Ruby has been doing better to be a good leader to her team thanks to Khazhak's advice. Team KEPL has had a little trouble getting used to working with others outside their own group, but have since then become more comfortable at living at Beacon Academy. Thankfully, they did not have much trouble handling the work for their classes, seeing them as tasks necessary to get closer to their goals. What's more, the members of Team KEPL can't argue that being at Beacon has helped them out with a few things, such as lodgings, food, and access to important resources like information. While things were a little edgy at the start, they were at least getting along better with Team RWBY, even though Khazhak has to make sure that Porphyrius doesn't end up attacking Weiss when she says something he doesn't like.

Speaking of which, the four girls of Team RWBY are currently returning from class, on their way to the cafeteria for lunch.

"You'd think that at least a few classes here would be more interesting than this. At least we get to fight in Professor Goodwitch's combat class. Meanwhile, Professor Port just rambles on and on about his made-up stories, and Professor Peach seems a little boring," Yang groans.

"I like Professor Peach. She is very professional," Weiss says.

"And what about Professor Port?" Yang asks.

"His class is just as important…Though even I am getting a little irritated at his stories. Even if he is a trained huntsman, there's no way he managed to defeat an Ursa with a frying pan," Weiss replies.

"Well, at least we're learning…something out of these classes. At least most of them," Ruby says.

"Come on, let's just get something to eat. I'm hungry," Blake notes.

The four continue their walk to the cafeteria, however, they end up passing by the training room and hear something inside.

"Alright Lloyd, let's see how much you've progressed," they hear from inside.

"Wait, that sounded like Khazhak," Ruby says as they stop.

"It sounded like Lloyd is in there with him. You think their having a sparring match or something?" Yang asks.

"I don't see how that's any of our business," Weiss says, only to look back to see the other three open up the door slightly to peek inside. "Are you even listening to me?" Weiss exclaims, but then curiosity gets the better of her and she goes to look inside as well.

Inside, they see Porphyrius and Reaper standing off to one side while Khazhak and Lloyd are in the center of the sparring arena. Neither of them have their weapons on them, choosing to use only their bare hands.

"Oooh, it looks like they're about to have a match. This is going to be sweet. I wonder who's gonna win," Yang says.

"What about lunch? Blake, you said so," Weiss says.

"That can wait," Blake replies, keeping her eyes on the match about to begin.

"Alright Lloyd, ready?" Khazhak asks as he takes his stance.

Lloyd chuckles, "Heh-heh-heh, ready Brother," he replies, also taking a combat stance.

The two remain motionless for a few moments…until suddenly they both charge at each other. Lloyd is the first to make a move as he throws a right punch at Khazhak, who deflects it and then deflects another punch from Lloyd's left arm. Using his momentum, Khazhak spins around to deliver a spinning hook kick to Lloyd's face, who reels back to avoid it. Khazhak goes on the offensive and throws two hooks followed by one right uppercut, only for Lloyd to block each one. Lloyd retaliates by shoulder tackling Khazhak, who blocks the strike but his feet slide back across the floor. Lloyd runs at him and then jumps up to deliver a crashing punch on Khazhak's face. However, Khazhak evades the attack and throws a left punch that gets blocked by Lloyd's left arm, but then Khazhak grabs it and moves it out of the way to nail a right hook on Lloyd's skull before pulling his arm up and side-kicking him away a few feet. Lloyd regains his footing and holds his arms in front of him just as Khazhak throws a few more punches at him, blocking them. Lloyd grabs one punch and pulls Khazhak in for a head-butt, staggering him for only a second. Khazhak pulls himself free and then throws a roundhouse kick at Lloyd's skull, but it gets blocked. However, Khazhak manages to get under him and throws a low sweep kick to knock Lloyd off his feet. As Lloyd lands on the ground, Khazhak reels his right leg up to smash it down on Lloyd. Lloyd rolls out of the way just in time before it crashes down on him.

Lloyd gets back up and throws a right front kick at Khazhak, who sidesteps it before blocking a right cross from Lloyd. Lloyd tries a left hook this time, but Khazhak grabs his arm and then grabs Lloyd's skull before bringing it down for a left knee strike to his face. The attack doesn't faze him much, but Khazhak pours it on by delivering four cross strikes to Lloyd's face. Lloyd staggers, but shakes his head and regains his focus. Lloyd runs at Khazhak, who meets him in kind, and the two crash into each other with one arm bracing against another. The two try to push against each other, but Lloyd slowly pushes Khazhak back. However, Khazhak suddenly moves out of the way, making Lloyd lose his footing, only for Khazhak to grab his left arm and the back of his neck, spin Lloyd around, and then sweep him off his feet. Just before Lloyd hits the ground, Khazhak elbows him hard to make him hit the ground harder. Lloyd groans before he looks up to see Khazhak calmly walk away with his back turned to him. Lloyd sees this as a chance to strike and gets up to charge at Khazhak again. However, this is just a ploy, as when Lloyd gets close, Khazhak ducks down while kicking at one of Lloyd's feet, making him fly over Khazhak. In slow motion, Khazhak grabs Lloyd in mid-air, redirects him, and then roundhouse kicks him straight into the wall, hard.

"Owwwww…" Lloyd groans in pain as he slowly falls off the wall and onto the floor.

"Your strength and defense have improved, Lloyd, but you need to work on the speed of your attacks. No matter how strong your punches are, they're useless if you can't hit your opponent," Khazhak says as he walks over to him.

"Quit your crying, it wasn't that bad. At least he didn't use his swords or his semblance," Porphyrius berates him while leaning against the wall next to Lloyd, arms crossed.

"Speaking of which…" Khazhak says before taking one of his swords and throwing it right into the door that Team RWBY is hiding behind.

"AHHH!" all four girls scream as the sword imbeds itself into the door just above their heads.

"You can all come out now," Khazhak dryly calls out as he walks over to them.

The four open the door and enter, and then Khazhak retrieves his sword.

"What in the world is wrong with you?! You could've seriously hurt us with that stunt!" Weiss yells.

"I knew what I was doing. If I wanted to hurt you, then you wouldn't even be standing on your own two feet right now," Khazhak retorts without a care.

"Excuse me?!" Weiss yells.

Ruby then joins in to diffuse the situation, "Okay, look, no one was hurt. And besides, our auras would've protected us anyway. Let's just forget about it and move on," she says.

"Hmph. Fine," Weiss grunts and crosses her arms and looks away.

"So…it looks like you guys were getting pretty into it. Doing some sparring today?" Yang asks.

"Can't get rusty now. Plus, there aren't that many students here that can give us, Khazhak mainly, a good fight other than ourselves," Reaper notes.

"This is to help my teammates with improving on their skills and learning how to deal with their weaknesses. As for me, I need a good fight or else I can't get stronger. Training alone won't be enough for what awaits us outside the kingdom's walls," Khazhak adds.

"Well, don't count us out. You've never faced any of us before. If we ever get into a brawl, we'll be sure to give you a run for your money," Yang says.

Porphyrius chuckles, "While I admire that confidence of yours, Yang, you don't know Khazhak like we do. No offense, but if you fight him, then you WILL lose," he says.

"Oh, is that a challenge?" Yang asks, getting a little fire in her eyes.

Suddenly, a loud growl is heard and they all look at Blake, who blushes from embarrassment at her stomach growling.

"Maybe after we get something to eat, please. I'm really hungry now," she says sheepishly.

"Oh my God, we're late for lunch!" Ruby says before she and the rest of the team run out of the room.

"Well, it almost feels like we've been challenged. What do you think, Brother?" Lloyd asks.

"If they wish to fight me, then so be it. After all, you can't fully understand a person's combat abilities until you've crossed blades with them. Guess we'll just have to wait and see," Khazhak says.

 _…The Next Day…_

Team KEPL make their way to their next class of the day, which is also admittedly one of their favorites, combat class. Though Professor Goodwitch is the teacher, the class itself is definitely one they enjoy. While they do see the importance of the other classes, they're more used to actual combat thanks to their previous experiences, and thus, feel more at home in the sparring arena. As they get closer to their class, they bump into Team RWBY.

"Hey, guys, ready for combat class?" Yang asks as she waves to them.

"Indeed. I wonder who we may end up facing off against today," Reaper replies.

"Hopefully someone that can give me a fight. I'm tired of facing weak opponents," Khazhak says as he walks right past them.

"Is he okay?" Ruby asks, concerned.

"Don't worry about it. Brother's just itching for a brawl, that's all. Whenever he gets like this, I can't help but feel bad for the other guy. Come on, let's go," Lloyd says as they all follow him.

Once inside, the teams went to the locker rooms and changed into their combat attire (except for Team KEPL). After everyone got situated, Goodwitch walked onto the arena floor.

"Now then, today we'll be doing one-on-one sparring matches. It is crucial that you get a feel for how other people fight in order to better prepare yourselves for the outside world. This will also help you with your own training into improving your skills. Now then, for the first match of today, we'll have…" she says, hitting a few buttons on her scroll. "Khazhak Rairyu, versus…" she hits a few more buttons. "Ruby Rose," she declares.

The members of the two teams glance at their respective leaders. Ruby looks a little surprised at having to face off against Khazhak, but Khazhak just glances at her while cracking his knuckles. Ruby couldn't help but feel like this won't end well.

"Don't worry Ruby. You go out there and kick his butt," Yang offers some supporting words.

"Y-yeah, right," Ruby stutters.

A minute later, the two leaders stand in the arena, facing each other. Both take out their weapons, but while Ruby takes her stance, Khazhak remains motionless.

"Ruby, we may be friends, but it is precisely because of that fact that you must not hold back against me. I'll see it as an insult of you do. However, I also want you to just fight as you normally would against any other opponent. After all…this is a fight, so to speak," Khazhak says.

Listening to his words, Ruby takes a deep breathe to calm herself down before she gets a determined look in her eye.

"I'm ready, Khazhak," she says.

"Good…Ruby Rose, prepare to be judged," Khazhak declares.

This confuses the members of Team RWBY.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean? Did he just threaten my sister?!" Yang exclaims.

"Don't worry. He says that to all his opponents. It's just something he does when he gets ready to see what they're made of. Just watch and you'll understand," Porphyrius explains before they all look back to the arena.

"Ready…3…2…1…Begin!" Goodwitch calls out and the match begins.

Ruby fires her scythe behind her to shoot her over to Khazhak. However, when she gets close enough to take a swing at him, Khazhak simply raises his left blade to block the strike before countering with a swing of his right sword. Ruby manages to block the attack with the staff of her weapon, but it knocks her back a few feet. Khazhak goes on the offensive this time and runs at her. Khazhak proceeds to swing his right sword at her and then his left before going in for another right swing. After the attacks, Ruby twirls her scythe around before making an overhead strike at Khazhak. Khazhak crosses his blades together to block the strike, and then Ruby fires off her sniper-scythe, trying to use the recoil to break through Khazhak's defense. However, Khazhak manages to jump back to avoid the strike and then fires off a few shots with his blades. Ruby spins her scythe in front of her to block the shots, and then runs at Khazhak again. Only this time when she swings her scythe at him, Khazhak deflects the attack with his right blade in order to strike Ruby with his left, and then does a right spin kick that knocks her away.

Ruby stabs her scythe into the ground and fires off a few rounds at Khazhak. However, Khazhak manages to deflect each shot with his swords, and even moves his head slightly to the side to narrowly avoid the last round.

"You'll have to do better than that, little rose," Khazhk notes before he charges up his right sword. Ruby prepares to evade the next attack. "LIGHTNING SLASH!" Khazhak yells before swinging his sword, sending out the attack.

Ruby jumps over the strike and then uses her semblance to rush at Khazhak again. Khazhak combines his swords into their buster sword form to use as a shield to block her attack. He then pushes her back and uses the narrow space between his blades to trap Ruby's scythe. Twisting the sword up and over, he fires off a shot, forcing Ruby's weapon to go down to the ground and pushing his blade up and around. He then fires off another shot, using the recoil to swing it hard at Ruby, hitting her and sending her back onto the ground. Ruby gets back up just in time to raise her scythe to block a downward strike from Khazhak's sword, however she finds herself in trouble due to Khazhak's superior strength.

"You've got some skill, little rose. I believe you'll go far in the future…BUT, you still have a long way to go before you can face someone like me on equal ground," Khazhak says and then charges up his semblance again.

He pushes Ruby back, making her take a few steps back to steady herself while he charges up his semblance. Using this opportunity, Ruby fires off a few more shots at Khazhak, however he makes minimal movements to dodge her shots while still charging up his semblance. Seeing that her rounds won't hit him, Ruby charges at him one more time and when she gets close, fires her scythe behind her to spin her body around in a tempest of steel towards Khazhak. In slow motion, just as Ruby's scythe is about to strike Khazhak's body, Khazhak manages to duck under the attack just in time, causing her to fly right over him. Ruby lands and slides across the ground as she turns to look back at Khazhak. But it was already too late.

"LIGHTNING TORNADO CRUSHER!" he yells and swings his sword down, sending out a twister of blue lighting at Ruby.

The attack comes too fast, and Ruby gets blasted back to the edge of the arena from the attack, her aura dropping into the red zone as she rolls on the ground until she stops.

"And that's the match. The winner is Khazhak Rairyu. Well done, both of you," Goodwitch announces.

"I can't believe Ruby lost," Yang mutters in shock.

"Experience outranks everything, and Khazhak has more experience than any student here. This was bound to happen," Porphyrius notes.

Ruby struggles to get up, but then looks up to see Khazhak standing over her.

"Ruby Rose, final verdict: innocent," Khazhak says before offering a hand to her.

"Huh?" Ruby wonders, confused, but takes the hand anyway.

"What does Khazhak mean by 'innocent'? Did Ruby do something?" Weiss asks.

"To Khazhak, duels are like trials, and he gives his opponent a verdict after that trial is over. If he gives you a guilty verdict, it means that they couldn't give him a good fight and force him to fight seriously. If he gives you an innocent verdict, it means that you gave him a good fight," Reaper explains.

"So Khazhak considers Ruby to be a worthy opponent?" Blake asks.

"Nope," Lloyd says, stunning them. "Brother's verdicts are based off more than just that person's combat skills. He also makes them based off that person's character. While Ruby is not considered to be a worthy opponent to Khazhak, no offense, he does consider her to be a good and honorable person, which is why he gave her an innocent verdict, which is still a good thing," he explains further.

Hearing this makes Yang smile a little bit, "So he sees her as a good person. That's my little sister for sure," she says.

"Guess I got beat today, huh? Ow," Ruby says, rubbing her head in pain.

"You still have much to learn, Ruby. But I'm sure in time you'll become an excellent huntress with more training. After all, our time at this school has only just begun," he says.

This makes Ruby smile, "Yeah, you're right. Thanks Khazhak," she says.

Seeing Ruby smile, makes Khazhak smirk a little bit.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Keep in mind that while Ruby is skilled, this is currently set back in Volume 1, and again, Khazhak has more experience under his belt, thus making him more skilled than her. So the leaders of the two teams have squared off. What awaits them in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	15. Chapter 10: Fear

**Here we are at Chapter 10. Another filler for now until we get to the next main chapter. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 10. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Fear**

A few days have passed since Ruby's match against Khazhak. Luckily, things didn't really change between them after that, though it did make Ruby have a greater appreciation for Khazhak's skills and experience. Meanwhile, the rest of their team members were steadily becoming more accustomed to each other. Lloyd had little trouble getting along with Ruby and Yang, though Weiss and Blake were a different story. Porphyrius tended to keep to himself most of the time, only talking to the girls when he felt like it. Reaper was casual with the group, but didn't get too crazy like Lloyd, much to Blake and Weiss' relief. Khazhak would talk somewhat with Yang and Blake, but not much with Weiss. He only really talked with Ruby. Team KEPL had basically the same situation with Team JNPR, though it was actually a little easier talking with them, for the most part. All-in-all, they were getting along fine.

 _…In Team KEPL's room…_

Currently, the members of Team KEPL are in their dorm room, going about their day. Porphyrius is studying for one of his classes, Reaper is polishing the blades of his weapon, Lloyd is napping, and Khazhak is looking out their dorm window, lost in his own thoughts.

"Well, so far, everything is going well for us here at Beacon. Still not used to having to communicate with so many people at once, but that's a work in progress," Reaper notes.

"At least the classes are somewhat informative…except for maybe Professor Port's class. All he does is talk about the 'glory days of his youth'. Honestly, that's getting old real fast," Porphyrius adds.

Khazhak crosses his arms, "That is of little importance. As long as we gain the knowledge we need here, I couldn't care less what the teachers do. As we have discussed in the past, there are several advantages for us here at Beacon. But that does not mean that there won't be some complications along the way. Though, that's not much different than what we were doing before we came here. We'll just have to make the best of it, just as we always have in the past," he says, still looking out the window.

"We've definitely met some…interesting compatriots here as well. From Team RWBY, we have a hyperactive, cookie and weapon loving girl in a red hood, the Schnee heiress, a silent bookworm, and a blonde party girl/bruiser. From JNPR, we have Vomit Boy, the champion of Mistral, a quiet ninja, and…well…Nora. They at least keep things interesting," Reaper lists them off.

At the mention of Weiss, Porphyrius narrows his eye, something Khazhak notices but decides to let him be for now. Khazhak then begins moving from the window.

"I'm heading out. I got some training to do. Anyone want to come with?" he asks as he walks towards the door.

"I'll accompany you. I'm about to head to the library anyway," Reaper says as he puts his weapon away and joins him.

"I'm good," Porphyrius replies.

"Fine, Porphyrius, you're in charge of Lloyd," Khazhak says.

"Wait, why am I in charge of him?" Porphyrius asks as he stands up.

"Because you're still here," Khazhak says, and with that, half the team left the dorm.

Porphyrius just stands there, dumbfounded at having to babysit Lloyd. Just then, Lloyd rolls over in his sleep and ends up falling off his bed, hitting the floor face-first.

"Ow…" Lloyd mutters as he wakes up while Porphyrius just facepalms.

 _…With Khazhak and Reaper…_

"So, why do you need to head to the library?" Khazhak asks as the duo walks through the dorm hallway.

"I want to see if they have any books related to semblances. There's something I need to work on," Reaper replies.

Khazhak knows all too well what Reaper is getting at, "You don't have to feel bad about your semblance not working against Grimm, Reaper. You're still plenty enough a capable fighter without it. That's what we're here for," Khazhak says.

"I know, but it still bothers me that when the real fight against the Grimm shows up, I can't be of as much help as I could if we were facing off against criminals and thugs," Reaper laments.

"I won't tell you to stop. Just remember not to let it get to you. I'm sure there are other ways for your semblance to be able to work against the Grimm. Just keep at it until you find them, but don't overdo it. I can't have you dropping on me anytime soon, you know," Khazhak says.

Reaper chuckles a little bit, "Heh-heh, don't worry. I'll be fine," Reaper says as they come to a crossroads. "Well, I'll see you later then," Reaper says and Khazhak nods to him before they go their separate ways.

Reaper makes his way to the library, hearing a few other students whisper about him as they pass by, all wondering about why he wears his mask mostly. Reaper pays them little mind, quite used to all the unwanted attention his mask brings him. Eventually, he reaches the library and begins combing through the bookshelves until he finds at least one book regarding semblances. The book focused mostly on the theories related to it and some history as well. He finds a lone table, with no one else around, and sits down to read through the book. Throughout the pages, he finds a few details that may be useful, however the rest of the information in the book turns out to be essentially useless for his objective. After spending quite a bit of time reading through the book, Reaper sighs and closes it. As he goes to return it to its proper shelf, he hears someone behind him.

"Reaper?" he hears a girl's voice behind him.

Reaper turns around to find Blake and Weiss standing behind him.

"Weiss, Blake. Good afternoon. What brings you hear?" he asks.

"Studying/Reading," Weiss and Blake reply at the same time. "What about you? Are you studying as well?" Weiss asks.

"Sort of. Mainly just research, though it turned out to be a wasted effort on my part. I'll be going now," he says and leaves the two girls alone.

However, Weiss notices that the book Reaper put away was one on semblances. Curious as to why he would be reading through a book like that, Weiss decides to follow him.

"I'm going to see what that's about. Care to come with?" she asks Blake.

"I'm good. I want to get some reading done. See you back at the dorm," Blake says and takes her leave.

With that done, Weiss quickly moves through the library to catch up to Reaper, eventually finding him exiting the library. Keeping her distance, Weiss follows him for a short while before she finds him coming up to one of the training rooms. She watches as he enters and then makes her way over, but chooses to stay out of the room while peering through the crack in the doorway.

"Looks like Khazhak isn't here. Well, more peace and quiet will be more useful to me," she hears him say.

Reaper pulls out his twin-scythe that he had on his back. He slams one end on the ground and with his left hand, he conjures up one of his skull phantoms in front of him. Because it's just one, this one has a more physically material form. Focusing his energy, he creates a second skull phantom, though this causes the first one to become less physical along with the second one. He does the same process a third time, and gets the same result. He can be heard grinding his teeth together as he puts more power into his semblance, his aura glowing as it slowly loses more energy. The skulls begin to slowly become a little more whole, but after a few moments, Reaper is forced to relent as his skull phantoms dissipate and he drops his hand, taking a deep breath to recompose himself. Weiss watches with an intense stare at seeing his semblance again. The only other time she saw it was during the initiation when he used it to save her from a nasty fall.

"You can come out now, Weiss," he suddenly calls out, spooking her.

Seeing that she has been found out, Weiss slowly steps into the training room as Reaper finally turns to face her.

"So, uh, you noticed I was watching?" she says, trying to maintain her composure.

"I noticed since you began following me from the library," Reaper admits.

Weiss goes wide-eyed at hearing this, _"How did he know? I was being extra quiet so he wouldn't notice me,"_ she thinks.

"I heard the steps of your heels from not too far away, and I could also feel the sense of someone watching me. Wasn't that hard to figure out," Reaper says, knowing what Weiss was thinking.

"What, you can read minds now too?" she asks, annoyed.

"No, you're just easy to read sometimes," Reaper says, making her pout a little bit. "So, why are you following me?" he asks.

Weiss recomposes herself, "Well, if you must know, I noticed that the book you were reading in the library was one related to semblances. I admit, I was a little curious as to why you would choose that, so I decided to follow you in case you ended up in a place like this. It seems my hunch was correct. So, what are you doing anyway?" she asks.

Reaper sighs, "Well, if you must know, I have been trying to work out a little issue with my semblance, one that has been plaguing me for quite a long time," he says.

"What's that?" she asks.

"Do you know what my semblance is exactly, Weiss," Reaper asks back.

"Um, it allows you to create those skull phantoms, isn't it?" Weiss hesitantly replies.

"Not exactly. Tell me, during the initiation exam, aside from using it to save you, did you ever see me use it against the Grimm we were battling against?" he asks again.

"Um…," Weiss trails off. As she thinks about it, she realizes that that was the only time she ever saw him use his semblance, even during the fight with the giant Gryphon. "No. Actually, that was the only time I saw you use it. What are you getting at Reaper?" she asks.

Reaper steps away a few steps, looking deep in thought, "The truth is, my semblance is useless against the Grimm, because its effects do not harm them," he says.

"Effects? What effects?" she asks.

Suddenly, Reaper conjures up a skull phantom and has it collide with Weiss. While Weiss wasn't hurt exactly, she is suddenly overcome with a strong sense…of fear. She looks at Reaper and feels fearful of his presence, despite her mind telling her that he's not a threat. Reaper then launches one of his hidden knives, using the metal wire to wrap around Weiss and keep her restrained as she tries to run away. He then puts his left hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming.

"Calm down Weiss. The effects will only last a few moments. Just take deep breaths, slowly," he says, trying to calm her down.

Weiss tries to break free, but find herself unable to move or do anything. Even the thoughts of using her semblance to escape seemed to elude her. However, after a few moments, the feeling of fear begins to decrease until eventually, she barely feels it anymore.

"Weiss, are you okay now? Just nod if you are," Reaper asks. Weiss looks at him, not feeling scared like before and slowly nods. "Okay, I'm going to release you now," he says and removes his hand from her face and frees her from his weapon. "Are you feeling better?" he asks, a little concerned.

"I'm…I'll be fine…That was just…surprising, is all," she says, unable to look at him.

"I apologize for this…occurrence. I'd just thought that it would be easier for you to see the effects of my semblance firsthand rather than have me explain it to you. Tell me, what did you feel when you looked at me?" he asks.

"I…I felt…scared. And yet, it didn't quite feel like a natural fear because I know you wouldn't have really harmed me, and yet, when I looked at you, I was scared. What did you do to me?" she asks as she slowly looks back at him.

"My semblance has the additional effect…of fear. Whenever my phantoms make physical contact with an adversary, it increases their sense of fear greatly, consuming them in it for a few moments. This is useful because it causes them to lose the will to fight me or my comrades, it can damage an enemy group's team strategy, or make them lose focus. This leaves them vulnerable to me or my allies. That is part of the reason why I serve as the support role for Team KEPL," Reaper explains.

"Okay, but I still don't quite see how that's been an issue for you. If it messes with your opponents in such a way, then why would it be a problem?" she asks.

"Because it doesn't work on every opponent I face," Reaper replies.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asks.

"It works on human or Faunus opponents with ease, however as future huntsmen, those aren't the only enemies we will have to fight. For example, my semblance doesn't work on androids because they feel no fear, they have no emotions nor souls whatsoever. That makes my semblance useless against them. But, the more critical issue is the Grimm. Tell me Weiss, do you know if the Grimm fear anything?" Reaper asks.

Weiss thinks on it for a moment, "…Um…No…No, I don't think they actually fear anything. If anything, fear is something they're attracted to," Weiss says.

"Exactly. They don't fear anything, or at least, we don't know if they DO fear anything. In any case, my semblance's effects seem to have no effect on them. This is a problem since the main threat that huntsmen face are the Grimm. And since my semblance doesn't work against them, that puts me at a disadvantage. That's why I'm trying to work around that issue. You see, I can send out a few phantoms at a time, however, they become more ghost-like when I do. But, when I only send out one, I can focus on that one phantom and give it a more physical form, such as the one I used to save you during the initiation exam. If I can make them more physical, I can use the skull phantoms themselves as bludgeoning weapons of sorts against the Grimm. It's a start at least, but I'm having a little trouble with it," Reaper says.

"I see. I guess that is a conundrum, isn't it. Are you sure it's okay for you to be telling me this?" she asks.

Reaper hums, "Hm, I think it's okay. What you do with this knowledge will be up to you, and what you do with it will help me determine if you are truly worthy of my trust. However, I don't think I'll have to worry about that," he says.

"What makes you say that?" Weiss asks.

"Don't know, but that's what they call taking a leap of faith. I'm taking a leap of faith on you. Guess I'll see how that turns out in the future. Well, I'd best be going. See you later, Weiss," Reaper says and leaves the training room.

Weiss just stands there, taking in all the things that Reaper has said, but then face palms, _"Argh, why didn't I say anything then?! I know exactly what it feels like not to be able to use a significant part of your semblance for combat. Stupid, I should've told him that so that we would be more on equal footing. He told me so much about his semblance, it's only right that I should've told him about his…*Sigh*…I guess I'll have to wait another time before telling him that. He's taking a risk with trusting me, and I need to prove that his trust is not misplaced,"_ she thinks before taking her leave as well.

 _…Later, in Team KEPL'S room..._

Reaper returns to his team's dorm and enters, finding Khazhak reading a textbook on his bed, while Porphyrius is doing homework, and it sounds like Lloyd is in the shower. Khazhak is the first to notice him.

"Welcome back, Reaper. Find what you were looking for?" he asks.

"Not really. But I never said that it would be easy. Though I did have an interesting conversation with Weiss Schnee," Reaper notes, making Porphyrius grunt a little bit.

"About what? Don't tell me you told her about your semblance's weakness against Grimm?" Khazhak asks.

"Yes, I did," Reaper replies.

Khazhak sighs and closes his textbook, "You're taking a risky gamble by telling her that, Reaper. You sure you didn't make a mistake with that move?" Khazhak asks again.

"Gambles are always risky, that's why they are called 'gambles'. As for my gamble, I don't think I'll have anything to worry about. Besides, I have this sneaking suspicion that she knows what I'm going through more than she lets on" Reaper replies as he sits on his bed.

"I doubt it," Porphyrius mutters.

"Very well, Reaper. It was your decision, and I will respect it. Just be careful," Khazhak says.

"Don't worry. If anything, that is something I would say to you given your…tendencies," Reaper says, making Porphyrius snort a little.

"I can still throw you out the window, you know," Khazhak replies darkly.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A little bonding between Reaper and Weiss. I'll have other chapters like that with rest of the two teams set up in the future. Anyway, Reaper and Weiss are becoming good friends, but will the rest of their teams be the same? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	16. Chapter 11: Backbone

**Here we are at Chapter 11. Now we get back into the main story of RWBY KEPL. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 11. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Backbone**

… _Beacon Academy's Combat Class, a few weeks later…_

It is the morning and Teams RWBY, JNPR, and KEPL are all in Professor Goodwitch's combat class in the amphitheater. Right now, Jaune Arc is in a sparring match against the leader of Team CRDL, Cardin Winchester. While Jaune is wielding his signature shield and sword, Crocea Mors, Cardin's weapon is a mace. As the three teams watch Jaune spar against Cardin, Khazhak can't help but shake his head in annoyance at Jaune's performance.

 _"This is PATHETIC! How the Hell is Jaune allowing himself to be tossed around like a rag doll against Cardin? Sure, Cardin may be stronger than him, but his movements are too slow. Jaune is just blindly rushing while swinging his sword around, and that is getting him nowhere. What he should be doing is evading Cardin's swings and making quick strikes at his openings. Honestly, how the Hell can Jaune be a huntsmen if he is making simple mistakes like this?"_ Khazhak mentally notes as he watches on.

Jaune is currently hunched over, trying to catch his breath, while Cardin is just standing in front of him with his mace resting on his left shoulder, laughing at him. Jaune collects himself before rushing at Cardin again, yelling as he swings his sword, only for Cardin to side-step to Jaune's right and easily avoid the attack. Jaune turns around in shock as Cardin swings his mace in an upward swing towards Jaune. Jaune manages to block the attack with his shield, but the attack knocks the shield out of his left hand and sends him crashing onto the ground. Jaune rolls back onto his feet before charging at Cardin again, wielding his sword with both hands this time, as he makes a downward swing that gets blocked by Cardin's mace in both his hands. Jaune tries to push back, but Cardin easily overpowers him.

"This is the part where you lose," Cardin taunts him.

"Over my dead-," Jaune starts before Cardin knees him in the gut, causing him to drop his sword and fall onto the ground.

Jaune weakly looks up to see Cardin raise his mace, preparing to finish him off before the sound of a buzzer goes off and the lights in the room come on, signifying the end of the match.

"That's enough," Professor Goodwitch says as she walks in between them and to the front of stage, underneath two screens that show Cardin with a full green bar under his picture, and Jaune's picture with a red bar that's just about gone. Cardin walks away a bit before placing his mace's head onto the ground and resting his hands on the end of the handle. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red," She says, working on her scroll to show the results. "In a tournament styled duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match. Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help you to decide when it is appropriate to attack, or when it is better to move to a more…defensive strategy," Goodwitch explains while Jaune looks at his scroll, showing that all his teammates' aura levels are green while his is in the red. "We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now would we?"

"Speak for yourself," Cardin mutters as he places his mace back onto his right shoulder and leaves the stage.

However, Khazhak heard what he said and narrows his eyes.

"Now then, we have time for one more sparring match. So, who would like to volunteer?" Professor Goodwitch asks.

 _"Time to teach that overgrown monkey a lesson,"_ Khazhak thinks before raising his right hand. "I'll go, professor," he says.

"Very well, Mr. Rairyu. Let's find you an opponent," Goodwitch says as she goes over her scroll.

"Actually, I choose Cardin Winchester as my opponent," Khazhak says, pointing at said opponent.

Cardin smirks at the challenge, "What? You want to get beat up like Jauney-boy too? Fine by me," Cardin says as he returns to the stage.

"Very well, the final match will be between Cardin Winchester and Khazhak Rairyu," Professor Goodwitch announces.

Cardin readies his mace, but Khazhak does something that shocks everyone. He takes out his blades, but then tosses them over to Reaper as he walks by Jaune who leaves the stage. Khazhak looks him in the eye for a moment.

"This is how it's supposed to be done, Jaune," Khazhak says and steps onto the stage to face his opponent.

"What are you, an idiot? Do you really think you can beat me without your weapon?" Cardin taunts him.

"I don't think, I KNOW I can beat you without them. You're not worthy of facing my blades," Khazhak says as he just stands there, not bothering to take a fighting stance. "Cardin Winchester…Prepare to be judged," Khazhak says while giving him a menacing look.

Cardin gets unnerved by it for a moment before composing himself and waiting for the match to start. Professor Goodwitch leaves the stage as the lights go dim.

"Alright, let the match…begin!" She says as a buzzer sounds.

Cardin rushes towards his opponent and performs a side swing at Khazhak's left, but Khazhak blocks it with his left gauntlet, making little effort in the motion. Khazhak then pushes Cardin's mace away before throwing a fast right jab that hits his face, causing him to stumble back. Regaining his balance, Cardin swings his mace again, this time at Khazhak's right side, but Khazhak grabs his arm, pulls him onto his back, spins, and throws Cardin over him onto his backside.

"I guess you're no brains AND no brawn, huh?" Khazhak taunts him, causing the audience to laugh at Cardin's expense.

Cardin growls as he gets back onto his feet and turns back to Khazhak only to see Khazhak's right fist hit his face again. Khazhak then throws three uppercuts to his torso before doing a spinning hook kick with his right leg that knocks Cardin's mace out of his hands. Cardin tries to retaliate by throwing a punch at Khazhak only for Khazhak to stop it with his own hand and thrusting a front kick with his right leg into Cardin's torso. As Cardin winces from the pain, Khazhak throws a powerful right uppercut that sends him flying into the air. Before Cardin starts falling to the ground, Khazhak grabs his mace and takes a batter's position, waiting for the right moment to swing. When Cardin falls close enough, Khazhak swings his mace and it collides with Cardin…right on his family jewels. Everyone in the room wince at the strike, while the boys in the room reach for their privates as Cardin's face shows excruciating amounts of pain from the blow.

"Cardin Winchester. Final verdict: guilty," Khazhak says.

Khazhak then throws Cardin off the stage and into a trash can at the side of the stage head first. After that, the lights come back on and the buzzer goes off, ending the match. Professor Goodwitch walks back on stage.

"And with that, Khazhak Rairyu is the victor. But Mr. Rairyu, was it truly necessary to strike Mr. Winchester in the genitals and send him flying into a garbage can?" she asks him with a deadpanned look on her face.

"Hey, I'm just doing my part for the community…By taking out the trash," Khazhak says, wiping his gloved hands as everyone laughs at his comment.

"I see…," She starts before turning to the audience. "Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing," she says as Yang punches her fist in the air, Weiss shakes her arms in excitement, Ruby shakes her whole body with energy, Lloyd cracks his knuckles, Porphyrius looks at Reaper who nods in understanding, and Pyrrha tries to avoid Ruby from accidently colliding into her. "Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale," Goodwitch says as the bell for the end of class rings and the students begin to leave.

However, Pyrrha looks at Jaune with a sad face as Jaune mimics her expression and hangs his head down in despair while Khazhak just walks by him with a grunt and rejoins his team.

"Don't you think you were a little hard on Jaune back there?" Reaper asks.

"We are training to be huntsmen. There is no room for that kind of weakness here. The Grimm won't show any kindness to us. Why should I be any different with him?" Khazhak replies as they begin to leave.

… _Later, in the school cafeteria…_

"So, there we were, in the middle of the night," Nora starts telling a story, trying to sound ominous.

"It was day," Ren calmly corrects her.

"We were surrounded by Ursai," Nora continues as Yang, entranced by the tale, listens in on the story while Blake, sitting on her right, is reading her own story.

"They were Beowolves," Ren corrects her again while holding a coffee mug.

"Dozens of them!" Nora shouts, causing Yang to jerk back and nod her head.

"Two of them," Ren corrects her again.

The teams of RWBY, JNPR, and KEPL are sitting at one of the long tables in the cafeteria having lunch. On the right side, starting from the end, is Reaper going over some notes, Khazhak drinking some tea, Ruby with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk, Weiss who is filing her nails while having a glass of water and an apple, Yang with a sandwich and a glass of water while listening to Nora's story, and Blake with a few books on the table while reading over one of them in her hands. On the left side is Lloyd munching on a 6-inch sub, Porphyrius drinking some juice, Jaune barely touching his plate of food with a fork, looking depressed, Pyrrha with a salad looking at Nora, Nora with a sandwich as she tells her story, and Ren with a coffee mug.

"But they were no match, and in the end, Ren and I took them down, and made a boat-load of lien selling Ursa-skin rugs," Nora finishes her story with a smile while Ruby and Pyrrha look at Jaune with worried expressions.

Ren sighs, "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now," Ren informs them.

"Why does that not surprise me," Porphyrius mutters.

"Anyone else think she needs a psychiatrist?" Lloyd whispers to Khazhak, earning an elbow to his stomach.

"Jaune, are you okay?" Pyrrha asks him as she notices something's bothering him.

"Huh? Oh, uh yeah, why?" Jaune says, placing his fork down and trying to look away from them.

"It's just that you seem a little…not okay," Ruby says.

"You look like crap," Khazhak bluntly says, earning a slap on his arm by Ruby. "Just saying," Khazhak says as everyone now looks at Jaune.

"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously, look," Jaune tries to convince them with a very unconvincing grin and a thumbs up sign.

"You're not a very good liar Jaune," Reaper bluntly says again, knowing Jaune was lying.

They all start hearing laughing nearby by and look to see Team CRDL at another table, surrounding another student. This student is a girl wearing the school uniform, and has waist-length brown hair and has a pair of long, brown rabbit ears, a Faunus. Cardin sits on her right while Russel is on her left and Dove and Sky are in front of her. Jaune sees this and clenches his left fist while Khazhak and his team start to get irritated at their antics.

"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school," Pyrrha says.

"Uh, who? Cardin Winchester? Nah, he just likes to mess around, you know, practical jokes," Jaune tries to wave it off.

"He's a bully," Ruby interjects.

"He's a punk," Khazhak adds.

"Oh, please. Name ONE time he's 'bullied' me," Jaune retorts, with air quotes on 'bullied'.

"Well, let's see…," Khazhak begins.

… _Flashback 1…_

Jaune is walking down the hall one day, carrying some books in his hands. Then Cardin walks by and slaps his books out of his hands and then walks off like nothing happened.

"Oh, come on!" Jaune yells.

… _Flashback 2…_

Jaune is getting ready to walk into class as Cardin is walking out of the same class. As they're walking by each other, Cardin hits the button on Jaune's sword sheath that turns it into its shield form, and it gets stuck in the door way. Jaune then tries to get it free from the doorway with little success.

"Agh! Oh, come on!" Jaune grumbles.

… _Flashback 3…_

The students are in the school on of the school locker rooms with Professor Goodwitch.

"Each of you will be assigned one rocket-propelled locker to store your weapons and extra armor. Additionally, your locker can be sent to a custom location based on a six digit code," Professor Goodwitch explains.

In the back of the group, Cardin stands next to Jaune until he gets an idea. He then shoves Jaune into an open locker.

"What!? No, wait, wait! Get me out of here! Please, don't, don't, don't!" Jaune pleads as Cardin hits six random numbers and the rocket locker then blasts off out of the room and into the sky as Cardin watches on, listening to Jaune's screams. "OHHH, COME OOOONNNNNN!" He screams as he flies away.

… _Flashback ends…_

Khazhak holds up three fingers after naming three times Cardin has bullied Jaune.

"Do I need to go on?" Khazhak asks him with an unamused glare as everyone else stares at him.

"I didn't land far from the school," Jaune tries to defend himself.

"You landed in the middle of the Emerald Forest, and my team and I had to go and keep you from becoming Beowolf chow," Khazhak says, annoyed, making Jaune groan.

"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask," Pyrrha offers.

"Oh! We'll break his legs!" Nora says as she stands with a maniacal grin on her face.

"There's an idea," Lloyd agrees with her while cracking his knuckles with an evil smirk on his face.

"I second that," Pophryrius adds.

"Down, boys," Khazhak says, telling them to keep their cool.

Jaune stands up with his food tray, "Guys, really, it's fine. Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everyone," Jaune says.

"Ow, that hurt!" they all hear and look over to see Cardin pulling on one of the girl's rabbit ears and laughing at her. "Please stop," She begs.

"I told you they were real," Cardin says, obviously not caring.

"What a freak," Russel says as they continue to laugh at her.

By this point, Khazhak has had enough and slams his hands on the table, stunning everyone.

"That's it. Team KEPL, let's take out the trash, again," Khazhak orders them as they all stand from the table and head over to the table where Team CRDL is at.

"Guys, wait!" Yang calls out, but to no avail.

Khazhak grabs Cardin's arm that's pulling on the girl's ear, giving it a strong squeeze and causing Cardin to scream in pain and let go of the girl. The girl falls back, but is caught by Reaper who gently brings her back on her feet. Cardin looks up to see who intervened, but immediately pales when he sees that it's Khazhak.

"Idiots like you don't know their place, do they?" Khazhak says before thrusting his left hand out and putting Cardin's face in a vice grip. "It's people like you that make me sick. You think you're special and that the rest of us are lucky enough to breathe the same air as you. Well, news flash, you're not the top dog around here. In fact, you don't even have a place on the food chain. And that is because guys like me clean up mess like you," Khazhak says as he effortlessly lifts Cardin up with one hand.

The rest of Team CRDL try to stop him, but they quickly get knocked down by Khazhak's teammates and sent flying to one corner of the cafeteria.

"If I find out that you're doing crap like this again, then next time I won't be so merciful. Now, get lost," Khazhak warns him before throwing Cardin all the way into his teammates, crashing on the ground before they retreat out of the cafeteria.

Khazhak turns to the rabbit girl, "You okay?" He asks her, losing his previously menacing demeanor.

"Uh, y-y-yes. T-t-thank you," the girl timidly responds.

"What's your name?" Khazhak asks.

"Velvet. Velvet Scarlatina," she says.

"Velvet, if those guys start bullying you again, just come to me or one of my teammates and we'll take care of them. Don't let trash like that mess with you," Khazhak says.

"Um, okay. Again, thank you," Velvet says, showing a shy smile before walking off.

Khazhak and his team nod to her before they walk back to their table and continue to eat their lunch as the other two teams stare at him in awe. Eventually, Khazhak notices this.

"What?" he asks.

"Khazhak, that was so cool! I can't believe you stood up to those bullies like that," Ruby cheers for him.

"Hmph, guys like that are all bark, no bite. No way in Hell am I gonna back down from a bunch of punks like them. Plus, his racist remarks ticked me off. I don't care if someone is human, Faunus, both, or neither. Do stuff like that around me, and you're done," Khazhak says before finishing his tea. "At least ONE of us has to have some backbone," he says while glaring at Jaune who tries to not make eye contact.

"People like Cardin are atrocious. I can't stand people like him," Pyrrha angrily says.

"He's not the only one," Blake adds, showing her own disdain.

"It must be hard to be a Faunus," Yang utters, feeling bad for them.

" _It's worse when you're a half-breed,"_ Porphyrius thinks to himself.

Jaune just sighs and walks away, not feeling good about the whole situation, as Khazhak watches him leave.

" _Sooner or later, you're gonna have to stand up for yourself, Jaune. Or else you'll always be a spineless fool,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself before he grunts and returns to his lunch.

"You could have been a little nicer to Jaune, you know," he hears Pyrrha say to him.

"I'm not the sympathizing type, Pyrrha. If he can't grow a spine, then he's got no chance at becoming a huntsman. My teammates and I have been through much. And the lives we've had to live had NO room for cowardice," he replies.

"Khazhak…" Ruby mutters, but Khazhak hears her.

"I'm sorry Ruby, but this is who I am. I haven't had an easy life, as you know. What's more, this is how my father taught me. Sometimes a hand on the shoulder helps, but other times, a kick in the backside works better. Jaune needs to step up, or else he'll never become a true huntsman. However, we can only do so much for him. He has to be willing to take that step himself, or else he'll never be able to move forward," Khazhak says.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Just a little bit of Khazhak's personality, the tough love part, showing here. To be honest, I agree with this idea myself. I believe that sometimes, in order to help someone, you need a little tough love, to get the fire in their souls burning again if they wish to move forward. Anyway, will Jaune gain his spine, or will Khazhak turn a blind eye to him? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	17. Chapter 12: Truth and Foolishness

**Here we are at Chapter 12. Not much to say, so let's get on with it. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 12. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Truth and Foolishness**

… _Beacon Academy, Dr. Oobleck's class…_

It is a few days later after the events that transpired back in the cafeteria. Team JNPR, along with RWBY members Weiss and Blake, and KEPL members Khazhak and Porphyrius are in Dr. Oobleck's History of Remnant class. In his right hand is a small cup that, most can guess, is filled with coffee due to the Professor's rather energetic behavior, speech, and movements. While most of the other students are listening in and trying to take down notes from his fast lecture, Jaune is snoring in his seat, and Khazhak can only shake his head for a moment before turning back to the lecture.

"Yes. Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie," Dr. Oobleck quickly says before taking a drink from his cup.

" _And I thought Ozpin drank a lot of coffee. This dude must have put AT LEAST 20 things of sugar into that cup of his,"_ Khazhak thinks as he watches Dr. Oobleck zoom around the front of the room.

"Now, while this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events. Why the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day," Oobleck quickly continues as he takes another sip of his drink. "Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?" he asks his class.

The rabbit Faunus, Velvet Scarlatina, is also in this class, but makes no movement. However, when another random student in the class raises his hand, she hesitantly raises hers. Porphyrius looks on, feeling sorry for her since he's been in the same situation.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful. Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence. I mean, I mean, just look at what happened to the White Fang," Oobleck says.

At the mention of them, Porphyrius narrows his lone eye before glancing at Khazhak, who subtly glances back in acknowledgement.

" _Yeah, from peaceful protest group to violent terrorist organization. They allowed their anger and thirst for revenge to cloud their minds and consume their souls, becoming the very monsters mankind saw them to be. While mankind may have pushed them to this, it is the White Fang's fault for allowing this to happen, and it is their fault that so many innocent people, both human and Faunus, have been hurt or killed,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself, having an angry look in his eyes.

"Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believe to be the turning point in the third year of the war?" Oobleck asks his students until Weiss raises her hand. "Yes?"

"The battle at Fort Castle," she answers.

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" Dr, Oobleck further asks.

By this point, Jaune is still asleep until Cardin, from the seat behind him, flicks a folded up piece of paper onto Jaune's head that causes him to stir and wake up.

"Hey," Jaune says, recovering from his beauty sleep.

"Mr. Arc, finally contributing to class. This is excellent, EXCELLENT! What is the answer?" Oobleck asks him when he gets right in front of Jaune's seat.

"Uh, the answer…," Jaune begins while eyeing Pyrrha from behind Dr. Oobleck for some help since he did not know the correct answer. "…The advantage the Faunus…" he hears Pyrrha grunt and looks over to see her pointing at her eyes. "…over that guys stuff…," he looks to see Pyrrha forming circles around her eyes with her hands. "…Uh, binoculars," he finally answers, thinking he got it right.

Oobleck looks on, unamused, while most of the students in the class laugh at Jaune, except for Pyrrha and Khazhak who just facepalm.

" _It's night vision, you idiot,"_ Khazhak mentally criticizes Jaune.

"Very funny, Mr. Arc. Cardin, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject," Oobleck motions to Cardin, who is leaning back in his chair with his legs on the desk.

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier," Cardin says, making Oobleck shake his head at Cardin's racial comment.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you Cardin?" Pyrrha rhetorically asks, getting irritated at Cardin.

"What? You got a problem?" Cardin begrudgingly asks back.

"No. I have the answer. It's night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark," Pyrrha answers correctly, making Cardin growl in anger.

"General Lagune was inexperienced, and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and the general was captured," Blake adds.

"His was arrogant to believe he could defeat them at night, and that arrogance left himself vulnerable. You must never underestimate your opponent, otherwise you'll be walking right into your own defeat," Khazhak says.

"Excellent point, Mr. Rairyu. Multiple factors can lead one to defeat, and history has shown that arrogance leads to downfall," Oobleck says.

"Too bad history seems to repeat itself since SOME people still arrogantly think they're better than others, and end up getting beat by those stronger than them," Khazhak further adds, mocking Cardin, and making him stand out of his seat with his fists clenched.

"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat," Oobleck instructs him before moving in front of Jaune who was laughing at Cardin. "You AND Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings," he says, much to Jaune's dismay. "Now, moving on."

After class ends, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, Khazhak, Porphyrius, and the rest of the class leave the room.

"You go on ahead. I'll wait for Jaune," Pyrrha says to her teammates as they leave.

"Porphyrius, head back to our dorm. I'll catch up," Khazhak tells Porphyrius, who nods and walks away.

Back in Dr. Oobleck's classroom, Jaune and Cardin remain the only remaining students.

"You two have been struggling in my class since day one. Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest, or just your stubborn nature. But, whatever it is...it stops now," Oobleck says while placing his cup on the front desk. "You've worked hard to gain entrance to this school, and we only accept the best of the best, so, I expect you to act like it. History is important gentlemen, if you can't learn from it…you're destined to repeat it. Pages 51 to 91, I want an essay on my desk by next class. Now, run along," Oobleck instructs them before zooming out of the room.

Pyrrha and Khazhak wait as Jaune walks out only to get shoved onto the ground by Cardin from behind.

"Ow!" Jaune yells while Cardin laughs at him.

Khazhak starts walking towards Cardin, "Hey, Cardin!" he yells.

Cardin turns around only to see Khazhak's left fist hit him in the face and send him flying across the hall. Khazhak then walks back to Jaune and Pyrrha.

"You know, I really will break his legs," Pyrrha says as she helps him up.

"Not if I break them first," Khazhak notes as he crosses his arms.

Jaune just sighs until Pyrrha gets a thought in her head.

"I have an idea! Here, come with me!" Pyrrha says before grabbing Jaune's left arm and dragging him off somewhere.

"This should be interesting," Khazhak mutters before following them.

The three of them eventually make it to the roof of one of the school dorm buildings, seeing the late night sky above them filled with stars and the shattered moon glowing brightly.

"…Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not THAT depressed," Jaune says as he looks down over he roof's edge. "I can always be a farmer or…something," Jaune mutters, making Pyrrha look down before realizing what he was thinking.

"NO!" Pyrrha freaks out before grabbing Jaune and pulling him away from the edge.

Khazhak then smacks him on the back of the head, "Don't be an idiot," he berates him.

"That's not why I brought you up here," Pyrrha tries to explain. "Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class, and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so…I want to help you," Pyrrha says, being supportive.

"What?" Jaune asks.

"We can train up here after class, where no one can bother us," Pyrrha explains.

"You think I need help?" Jaune sadly questions while rubbing the back of his head.

"Yes," Khazhak voices his opinion.

"Khazhak, you're not helping. Jaune, that's not what I meant," Pyrrha tries to explain again.

"But you just said it," Jaune retorts.

"Jaune, everyone needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon. That speaks volumes about what you're capable of," Pyrrha tries to sound supportive.

Jaune turns away, "…You're wrong. I-I don't belong here," Jaune sighs.

"For once, we're in agreement," Khazhak says, earning a glare from Pyrrha before she turns back to Jaune.

"That's a terrible thing to say, of course you do," Pyrrha quickly counters him.

Jaune turns back to them, "No, I don't!" he yells, making Pyrrha look sad for a moment. He sighs, "…I wasn't really accepted into Beacon," he admits before turning away again.

"And so the truth finally comes out," Khazhak says, crossing his arms.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asks Jaune.

"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests, I didn't EARN my spot at this academy," he then turns back to them. "I lied. I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied," he says.

"What? But, why?" Pyrrha asks, shocked at Jaune's explanation

"Cuz this is what I always wanted to be. My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors. They were all heroes. I wanted to be one too. I was just never good enough," Jaune explains.

Pyrrha puts a supportive hand on his shoulder, "Then let me help you," she says.

However, Jaune quickly shrugs it away, "I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!" Jaune shouts back.

"Jaune-," Pyrrha begins.

Jaune interrupts her, "I'm tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree, while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand? If I can't do this on my own, then what good am I?" he shrieks. Pyrrha tries to reach for him, but he pulls away. "Just…leave me alone. Okay?" he tells her.

"If that's what you think is best," Pyrrha dejectedly says before walking away.

Khazhak watches her leave for a moment before turning to Jaune, "Jaune…," he says.

Jaune turns to him…only to feel Khazhak's right fist collide with his gut in a hard uppercut. Khazhak then uses his left hand to grab Jaune's skull and smash it onto the ground.

"I knew you were stupid, weak even. But I never knew you were this PATHETIC!" he yells before lifting Jaune up and then throwing him into the wall behind them.

Jaune tries to get up, but Khazhak quickly crashes into him with a shoulder tackle, causing the wall to crack up a bit. Jaune falls back onto the ground, only for Khazhak to pick him up by his collar and smash his left fist back into his torso. Jaune tries to gasp for air after the attack, but Khazhak throws him onto the ground and then brings his left foot up before slamming it onto Jaune's chest. Jaune can barely breathe as he looks up at Khazhak's angry expression.

"What was that for? For lying about how I got here?" Jaune barely gasps.

"No…that was for hurting your comrade," Khazhak says before lifting his foot off of Jaune and walking away.

Jaune struggles to stand back up until he finally gets back on his feet and starts to walk away before someone else joins him on the roof. This person turns out to be Cardin.

"Heh-heh-heh, oh Jaune," Cardin says as he climbs onto the roof behind Jaune.

Jaune quickly turns to him, "Cardin?!" Jaune gasps.

"I couldn't help but overhear you three from my dorm room. So, you snuck into Beacon, huh? I gotta say Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel," Cardin says while crossing his arms.

"Please, Cardin, please don't tell anyone," Jaune pleads.

"Jaune, come on. I'd never rat out on a friend like that," Cardin says.

"Uh, a friend?" Jaune questions.

Cardin walks over to him and puts Jaune into a tight one-armed head lock with his right arm, practically chocking Jaune.

"Of course. We're friends now, Jauney-boy. And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time," Cardin says and then drops Jaune onto the ground, who gasps for air. "That being said, I really don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today," Cardin says before rubbing Jaune's head like a dog. "Think you could take care of that for me, buddy? That's what I thought," Cardin says and starts to walk back to the roof's edge. Jaune looks back at him. "Don't worry, Jaune. Your secret's safe with me," Cardin says before climbing back down to his dorm room.

Jaune only looks on worriedly, not noticing that Khazhak was listening in on the conversation from the doorway onto the roof.

" _Looks like you've gotten yourself into quite a messy situation, Jaune. Well…I'm not helping you out this time. You need to learn a lesson in humility. You made the mess, YOU clean it up,"_ Khazhak thinks before walking away.

Khazhak walks back to his dorm room and opens the door to find the rest of his team inside.

"Hey, Khazhak. So, what happened while I was gone?" Porphyrius asks as he puts his pajama shirt on.

Khazhak walks in and closes the door, "First, this stays between us for now. Got it?" he says, and they all nod to him. "Jaune faked his way into Beacon," he admits.

This gets their attention, "Wait, Jauney-boy never actually got accepted into Beacon? Now that you mention it, that actually explains a few things," Lloyd says.

"Indeed. No offense to Team JNPR's leader, but his skills are far lower than any other student here. And his academics certainly don't seem to be doing any better either. I was a little curious as to how someone with his lack of ability made it into Beacon. Now we know," Reaper adds.

"Wait, how did all this happen exactly?" Porphyrius asks.

"After Jaune left class, Pyrrha took him up to one of the dormitory rooftops, and I went with them. She said that she wanted to help Jaune become a better fighter by having the two of them train up there where no one can see them. I honestly thought it wasn't that bad of an idea, considering Pyrrha Nikos' skills as a renowned warrior. However, Jaune didn't want her help and admitted that he never got accepted into Beacon, nor any combat school for that matter. He apparently acquired some fake transcripts and lied his way into Beacon. He wanted to be a hero like his father and all those before him in his family, but failed to meet the mark. Pyrrha wanted to help, but he let his pride talk through his mouth instead of his brain and pushed her away, upsetting her. After that, I kicked the crap out of him and left," Khazhak explains.

"Ouch, I kind of feel bad for Pyrrha. She's really nice, you know, even if sometimes that can be annoying. Guess Jaune is an even bigger idiot than I thought," Lloyd says.

"That's not the only issue. After I left, I overheard Cardin Winchester climbing onto the rooftop. Apparently, he heard the whole thing, and is now making Jaune his personal slave and doing his work just so he'll keep Jaune's secret. He's got him tied on a leash now," Khazhak adds.

"That jerk? Great, just when he couldn't get any more annoying," Porphyrius says.

"So, what are we going to do about it?" Reaper asks.

"Nothing," Khazhak declares as he walks to stand in front of the dorm window and crosses his arms. "Jaune got himself into this mess. It's up to him to get himself out. He let some stupid, pointless macho crap get into his head, and now he's Cardin's little pet monkey. Maybe getting put in this situation will help him wise up. However, we will NOT be helping him in anyway, understood?" he says, and they all nod to him.

"What about Team JNPR? How are they going to take this?" Reaper asks.

"Pyrrha knows the truth, but I don't think she'll tell the others. As for the team, this will prove to be a new trial for them. Pyrrha will be dealing with this hard, but she'll have to face it and pull through. It all comes down to what Jaune does. Of course, I don't have that much faith in that idiot. But maybe a lesson in humility will help him figure out his mistake," Khazhak notes as he looks out into the night sky.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Khazhak and Team KEPL now know the truth about Jaune. However, they won't be helping him anytime soon. Will Jaune become free from Cardin's grasp? Will Khazhak change his mind about Jaune? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	18. Chapter 13: Tough Love

**Here we are at Chapter 13. Let's see if Khazhak will end up helping Jaune with his little problem, or leave him to fend for himself. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 13. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Tough Love**

 _…A few days later, at night, in Team KEPL's room…_

It has been a few days since Khazhak's meeting with Pyrrha and Jaune, and things haven't been going well. Jaune had been hanging out with Cardin more than his own team due to Cardin knowing his secret. This has caused a rift between them, one that Khazhak and his teammates have noticed. However, Khazhak said that they would not help, and so the four boys leave the members of Team JNPR to settle this themselves, though nothing has changed. Currently, the four members of Team KEPL are in their dorm, sleeping soundly…Well, three of them are. In his bed, Porphyrius is tossing and turning, muttering in his sleep. He starts to sweat as whatever nightmares plague him in his mind get worse. Eventually, his one eye opens up widely as he sits up in his bed, sweating a little bit. He breathes heavily for a few moments before he's finally able to calm himself down. Looking around, he sees Khazhak and Reaper sleeping peacefully, and Lloyd snoring in his bed with a little bit of drool leaking out of his mouth. Porphyrius sighs and gets out of bed to head to the restroom.

He splashes some water in his face to help him calm down and then stares at himself in the mirror. After a moment, Porphyrius takes off his shirt, revealing a few small scars on his body, though nowhere near as many or as bad as Khazhak's. However, he turns around, showing two large vertical scars running parallel down his upper to middle back. Porphyrius looks on with a little sadness in his eye as he thinks about how he got those particular scars.

"Nightmares again?" he hears and looks to the door way to see Khazhak standing there, arms crossed.

Porphyrius sighs again, "Yeah. It's okay, I'm fine," he says.

"You went through a traumatizing experience, Porphyrius. What you went through. What Jacques Schnee put you through. No one can come out of that unscathed, whether it's physically, or emotionally. I'm only sorry that even with all my power…there's nothing I can do to get you your wings back," he says.

"It's not your fault Khazhak. I've managed to get this far without them. I've learned to live without them. Falcons are supposed to be tough, after all," Porphyrius notes.

"Well, unlike falcons, you don't fly alone. Remember that. Try and get some sleep. We have trip to the Forever Fall Forest coming up, and we all need our rest for it. Goodnight, Porphyrius," Khazhak says before he leaves the restroom.

"Yeah…I know," Porphyrius mutters as he stares back at the mirror again before he returns to his own bed to get some sleep.

 _…The next day…_

After going through the usual classes and homework, Team KEPL leave to go do their own things. Porphyrius and Lloyd return to their dorm room, Reaper heads to the library, and Khazhak heads to the training room. When he enters the training room, Khazhak takes out his swords and begins practicing his techniques with them. Swinging his swords around, Khazhak focuses on ensuring some fluidity with his swings, so that there is balance with his two swords. After swinging his swords around for a few minutes, Khazhak fuses his swords together into their buster sword form, and charges up his semblance. He closes his eyes as he can feel the lightning going from his body to his blades, trying to ease the flow from one point to another. Once he feels he has charged up enough, Khazhak jumps into the air and then smashes his sword into the ground in a large explosion. When the dust clears, Khazhak is seen standing in the center of a large crater as he sheathes his swords.

"Yeah, that should work," he mutters before deciding to leave and get something to eat at the cafeteria. His dinner was relatively quiet enough. After all, most didn't really feel like talking to him since he gave off this vibe that said 'not looking for a chat' for the moment. After dinner, he is heading back to his dorm. However, along the way he spots Ruby, in her pajamas, sitting on the floor next to Jaune outside his dorm room, having a talk. Khazhak wanted to walk by since he didn't want anything to do with Jaune, but Ruby stopped him.

"Oh, hey Khazhak, what are you up to?" Ruby asks.

"Training session and dinner. Working on refining some new techniques I picked up," Khazhak answers before glancing at Jaune for a moment with a death glare and then turning away with a grunt.

Ruby turns back to Jaune, "Anyway, where have you been lately?" she asks.

"I uh," Jaune starts then sighs, "I messed up."

"Clearly," Khazhak says, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, I did something I shouldn't have, and now, Cardin's got me on a leash, and Pyrrha won't even talk to me, and Khazhak, well…" Jaune says, glancing at Khazhak who narrows his eyes at him. Jaune sighs, "…I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea," Jaune confesses before sliding his back on the door and onto the floor. "I'm a failure."

" _Gee, there's a shock,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself.

"Nope," Ruby utters.

"Nope?" Jaune asks, and Khazhak looks to her.

"Nope. You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure," Ruby replies.

"But, what if I'm a failure at being a leader?" Jaune questions her.

Ruby thinks for a moment, "Hmmm, nope," she says and walks over to sit down next to Jaune.

"Heh, you know, you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff," Jaune says.

 _"It's either her, or me and my fist. Your choice, Jaune,"_ Khazhak thinks.

"Nope. Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid," Ruby begins, causing Jaune to groan and to slump further to the floor. "You might have even been a failure the first day we met," Ruby continues, making Jaune groan and slump even further to the floor. "But, you can't be one now. You know why?" she asks him.

"Uh, because…," Jaune starts.

"Because it's not just about you anymore. You've got a team now Jaune. You, me, and Khazhak do. Right Khazhak?" Ruby turns to him.

Khazhak sighs, not wanting to waist his breath on Jaune. He really didn't want to help Jaune, but he just couldn't find it in him to say no, and concedes to Ruby.

"She's right, Jaune. As leaders, we have a duty to those who follow us into battle. When I formed my group, long before coming here, we were off to a rocky start. During one mission, my leadership got Lloyd injured in battle, but it wasn't anything too serious," Khazhak begins, making Ruby and Jaune look up in shock. "After that, I realized that I need to put them before myself. They are placing their trust, their loyalty, their LIVES, in my hands, and so I needed to do whatever I could for them. Not just to ensure that we complete the mission, but to ensure that we ALL come out of it alive. I needed to be worthy of their trust and their loyalty, something you have yet to show to your own teammates. I think it is time you stop whining like a little brat, and start thinking about them before yourself," Khazhak says.

"Aside from the whining comment, he's right Jaune. If we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us," Ruby says and then stands up with her hands on her hips. "We have to put our teammates first, and ourselves second. Your team deserves a great leader Jaune, and I think that can be you. Have a good night Jaune. Goodnight Khazhak," Ruby says and walks back into her dorm room.

"One more piece of advice Jaune…," Khazhak looks to Jaune. "A leader is only as such with their teammates by their side. I suggest you remember that," Khazhak says before walking back to his own dorm.

Jaune stands up and begins to walk away until his scroll starts ringing. He pulls it out and opens it to show a message from Cardin.

"Hey, it's your buddy Cardin. I know you're probably busy with that dust project I gave you, bbuuuttt I'm gonna need you to go out and get me a bag of Rapier Wasps," Cardin says, making Jaune freak out. "And make sure they've got some reealllyy big stingers. It's important, so don't screw this up," Cardin says as the message ends.

Jaune closes his scroll, sighs, and begins walking away from his dorm room for his new chore.

… _The next day, in the Forever Fall Forest…_

The Forever Fall Forest is much like the Emerald Forest from initiation, except that the leaves, bushes, and grass are colored red instead of green. The leaves gently fall from the trees to the ground, giving it an almost serene feel to the area. Professor Goodwitch leads the field trip, with Teams RWBY, JNPR, KEPL, and CRDL behind her.

"Yes students, the Forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful, but we are not here to sight-see," Professor Goodwitch explains, even though the students can't help but admire the landscape. "Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest, and I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

"Gee, I feel so safe because you're here," Lloyd mutters, earning a smack on the head by Porphyrius. "Ow!"

Goodwitch turns around and everyone stops in front of her. However, Jaune doesn't notice and collides into Cardin's back while carrying a cardboard box and seven empty jars. Cardin looks back and growls, making Jaune nervously laugh and begin to whistle while avoiding his gaze.

"Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap," Goodwitch instructs the class while holding a jar filled with red sap. "However, this forest is full of the Creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here at 4:00. Have fun!" Goodwitch says as they begin their assignment.

Jaune tries to sneak away, but Cardin grabs him by his hood, "Come on, buddy, let's go," he says.

Jaune sadly look over to Pyrrha who watches back as the others move to their positions. Jaune gangs his head and begins following Cardin. Pyrrha looks on, sad, and sighs before joining the rest of her teammates. Khazhak looks on for a moment before Reaper joins him.

"You worried about Jaune?" Reaper asks.

"No, I'm disappointed and somewhat angry. Even after our little talk, Jaune still hasn't grown a backbone. Well, I've given him whatever help I would offer. The rest is up to him now," Khazhak says before they walk away.

The three teams, minus Jaune, go about their business of collecting the sap, while at one point having to make sure that Nora didn't eat all the sap they collected, much to their annoyance. After a few minutes, Khazhak finishes up his jar as he looks over to Pyrrha, who looks full of melancholy at the sky. Ruby walks up to him as they have a silent agreement to check on her.

"Pyrrha, are you okay?" Ruby asks.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Pyrrha says, while Khazhak takes note of her full jar getting taken by Nora, and soon returns empty after hearing some more slurping sounds. Pyrrha looks down at the jar before bursting with anger. "NORA!" she yells to her left at Nora.

Things are relatively quiet after that, until they all hear a loud roar nearby.

"Did you guys hear that?" Ruby asks the others.

"Sounds like trouble," Khazhak mentions.

Suddenly, the other three members of Team CRDL run by everyone.

"Ursa! Ursa!" Russel yells as they run by until he collides into Yang, who immediately picks him up by his shirt, the collision not effecting or moving her at all.

"What?! Where?!" Yang quickly demands an answer.

"Back there, it's got Cardin!" He yells, pointing behind him.

"That means-," Khazhak begins before seeing Pyrrha drop her jar of sap.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha says, scared about her leader.

Ruby moves into action, "Yang, you and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!" she orders her sister as Russel gets out of her grip before Yang and Blake move to find Goodwitch.

"You two, go with them! There could be more," Pyrrha commands Ren and Nora while taking out her weapon along with Ruby.

"Lloyd, go with them! Reaper, Porphyrius, with me!" Khazhak orders while drawing out his swords and joining up with Pyrrha, Ruby, and Weiss.

Khazhak, Reaper, Porphyrius, Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha quickly arrive on the scene to see Cardin trying to crawl away from an Ursa Major, with Jaune standing nearby.

"Oh no!" Pyrrha says, seeing the Grimm closing in on Cardin.

Cardin turns around to see the Grimm attack him with its left claw, but suddenly, the attack is blocked by Jaune using his shield. Everyone looks at the scene in mild shock.

 _"Looks like you're finally starting to grow a backbone, Jaune. Took you long enough,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself as he watches the fight.

Weiss prepares to join the fight, but Pyrrha stops her.

"Wait," she says.

"She's right. This is Jaune's fight. It's time he stands up for himself, and get over his stupidity," Khazhak says as he retracts his blades.

Jaune pushes the Grimm's claw back, and swings his sword, hitting its chest, making it stumble back. The Grimm regains its footing before attacking Jaune with its right claw, but Jaune rolls out of the way. It attacks again with its left claw, but Jaune jumps over it, making it hit the ground. The Grimm quickly attacks with its right claw at Jaune while he is in mid-air, and knocks Jaune back onto the ground. Jaune quickly rolls back onto his feet and charges at the Ursa Major, jumping in the air at it, only for the Ursa Major to hit him again in mid-air with its left claw, knocking Jaune back onto the ground. Jaune slowly gets back on his feet and looks at his scroll, seeing it showing his aura level at the red. Jaune looks back at the Ursa Major before charging back at it as the Grimm charges at him. As they get close, everything goes into slow motion as Jaune swings his sword while the Grimm swings its right claw. Still in slow motion, Pyrrha notices that Jaune has his shield lowered and is going to get hit. As the two opponents get closer, Pyrrha raised her left hand as black energy flow around it. Suddenly, Jaune's shield is encased in that same black energy, and is pulled upwards. The shield blocks the Grimm's attack, and Jaune sets one foot don on the ground before performing one more swing with his sword that slices the Grimm's entire head off of its body, killing it. The slow motion scene ends as the Grimm's body and decapitated head fall to the ground, and Pyrrha lowers her hand, smiling.

"Uh, what?" Ruby asks in confusion.

"How did you-," Weis slowly begins to ask Pyrrha.

"Well, Ruby has her speed, you have your glyphs, Khazhak has his lightning, Porphyrius has his gravity shots, and Reaper has his skull phantoms. My semblance…is polarity," she informs them.

 _"So that's how she does it,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself.

"Oh, you can control poles," Ruby mutters in awe.

"No, you dunce. It means she has control over magnetism," Weiss corrects her.

"Magnets are cool, too," Ruby mutters as Pyrrha turns to leave.

"Wait, where are you going?" Weiss asks her.

"Yeah, we gotta tell them what happened," Ruby says.

"We could…," Pyrrha begins as she looks over to Jaune who sheaths his blade. "…Or perhaps we could just keep it our little secret."

Pyrrha turns to leave while the others look at each other with smiles on their faces. Khazhak looks over at Jaune for one more moment before leaving with his teammates.

"Hey Khazhak, you're not gonna break Jaune's confidence by telling him what happened, are you?" Ruby asks him.

Khazhak thinks for a moment before replying, "…No. I can see the nobility in Pyrrha's actions. If she wants this to remain a secret from Jaune, then I shall respect her wish," Khazhak answers, making Ruby smile.

"Thanks, Khazhak," Ruby says.

Khazhak then rubs her head, making her smile bigger, "No problem. Let's head back, little rose," Khazhak says as they leave with the others.

Meanwhile, Jaune walks over to Cardin and, surprisingly, offers a hand to help him up. Cardin takes the hand and gets back on his feet, their hand still clasped together.

"Holy crap, Jaune," Cardin says in shock.

"Don't ever mess with my team, my FRIENDS. Got it?" Jaune warns him before walking away and leaving Cardin by himself.

 _...Later that night, back at Beacon…_

Jaune was on top of the dorm building from before, in his school uniform, looking out to the night sky until Pyrrha walks up from behind him.

"No Cardin tonight? I thought you two were best buds," Pyrrha says, a hint of playfulness in her voice.

Jaune turns to her, "Pyrrha…I'm sorry…I was a jerk. You were only trying to be nice, and I-I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-," he tries to apologize before getting interrupted by a third party.

"Well, it looks like you finally got your head out of your backside," a voice says. Jaune and Pyrrha look to see Khazhak walking towards them. "It only took you becoming Cardin's pet dog, and almost getting killed by an Ursa Major to do it."

Jaune hangs his head before Pyrrha speaks up.

"Jaune…It's okay," she says, making him smile, which she returns. "Your team really misses their leader, you know," she says and starts to walk away. "You should come down. Ren made pancakes~. No syrup though, you can thank Nora for that," she says.

"Wait!" Jaune quickly says, getting her to turn back to him. "I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but…," Jaune says, holding his arm and hesitating for a moment. "Would you still be willing to help me…to help me become a better fighter?" he asks, more determined this time.

Pyrrha turns away for a moment, hiding a smile on her face. She then turns around and walks over to Jaune before pushing him onto his butt on the ground.

"Hey!" he yells on the ground.

"Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground," she instructs him. She offers him a hand up, which he takes with a smile, and they stand together, hands still clasped together. "Let's try that again," she says.

"Well, looks like it's time for me to leave," Khazhak says before turning to walk away.

"Wait, Khazhak!" Pyrrha calls out to him, making him turn around. "I know that I will do all I can to help Jaune get stronger, but there may be some things I can't teach him that you can. Would you be willing to offer a little extra help with his training?" she asks.

"…No," he answers, making them frown. "I think he's in good hands with you, Pyrrha. He will be just fine," he says, making them smile again. "Now if you will excuse me, I have a little pest control problem to deal with," he says as he leaves.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asks.

"Oh, just four stupid cockroaches that haven't learned their lesson yet," he says as he leaves the roof, leaving Jaune and Pyrrha confused.

… _A little later, in Beacon's courtyard…_

The members of Team CRDL are all thrown down onto the ground in front of the school statue. They all look up in complete fear at the sight of all four members of Team KEPL looking down on them, dark looks in their eyes. Khazhak begins to slowly walk towards Cardin.

"Didn't I take care of you idiots a while back?" Khazhak says before grabbing Cardin by his collar and pulling him close to his face, and reeling his right fist back. "I'm very disappointed in you, morons. Guess it's time for some extra lessons," Khazhak darkly mutters before throwing his right fist at Cardin as everything goes black.

… _The next day…_

Team RWBY are in their room, preparing for their day of classes until they hear some commotion coming from the school courtyard. They all rush to the courtyard to see many other students gathered around the school statue, laughing and having their scrolls out. They move through the crowd to the front to see Team KEPL standing before the statue.

"Khazhak, what's going on?" Ruby asks him.

Khazhak just nods his head in front of them and Team RWBY turn and suddenly, their eyes go wide and their jaws drop. In front of them are the members of Team CRDL, beaten up, their arms tied, wearing nothing but their underwear, and all hanging by their underwear on different parts of the statue. After seeing this, the members of Team RWBY can't help but laugh their butts off at the scene and take pictures with their scrolls, beyond happy at Team CRDL being humiliated after all the harassment they did to other students. Khazhak just playfully wipes his hands together.

"Maybe now, you'll think twice before messing with any of my comrades!" Khazhak yells at Team CRDL.

After laughing at Team CRDL's expense, Ruby looks over to Khazhak.

 _"While I may not exactly approve of his methods, I am glad that Khazhak looks out for his friends the way he does. It's nice to know he cares about all of us, even if he doesn't always show it."_ Ruby thinks to herself, a big smile on her face.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Khazhak managed to help Jaune grow a spine, and a brain. And taking out the trash that is Team CDRL. Things are getting interesting at Beacon for Team KEPL. As for Porphyrius, yes he is a Falcon Faunus, and his traits were a pair of wings on his back before he lost them. As for what happened to them, you'll find out before Volume 1 ends. What awaits Team KEPL in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	19. Chapter 14: The Judgment's Shield

**Here we are at Chapter 14. Just a little filler before we get to the next main chapter in the story. Here, will focus a little more on Lloyd Jyousai since he hasn't had much screen time yet. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 14. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: The Judgment's Shield**

 _…A few days since the trip to Forever Fall Forest…_

It has been a few days since Jaune managed to break himself free from Cardin's control and finally grow a spine. Since then, Pyrrha has been training him when they can, and Khazhak no longer sees him as dead weight, though Jaune still has ways to go before he can earn Khazhak's full respect. Meanwhile, after Jaune stood up to them, and Team KEPL scared them half to death, Team CRDL have left the three teams alone just so they could keep breathing. Also, Khazhak made sure that Cardin didn't blab Jaune's secret to Goodwitch. Because if he did, Team CRDL would be in need of a new leader and fourth member of the team. Currently, the three teams are in the cafeteria having lunch after going through a few classes.

"I see you guys seem to be happier now. It's a nice change from a few days ago," Ruby notes as she chews on a cookie.

"Yes, it was a bit of a…bumpy road, but we've managed to overcome it, and now Jaune and I can work on his training. Soon enough, he'll be an excellent huntsman," Pyrrha replies.

"Yeah. Thanks for your help Pyrrha. And Khazhak, thanks for knocking some sense into me. I really needed it," Jaune thanks Khazhak, who's eating a sandwich.

"I didn't do it for you, if that's what you're thinking. I was planning on leaving you to the wolves, but I decided to help. But only because Ruby asked me to. If you're going to thank someone, thank her," Khazhak says, glancing at Ruby.

Ruby chuckles nervously, "I didn't really do that much. I just talked with Jaune, that's all," she says.

"Yeah, well it was a nice bonus to see you guys string up Team CRDL on the school statue in nothing but their underwear. That was hilarious!" Yang laughs.

"They had it coming," Porphyrius notes while drinking some water.

"Yeah. Punks like that are no match for us. Right, brother?" Lloyd asks.

Khazhak just grunts and shrugs his shoulders.

This gets them a few glances from some of the friends at the table.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask this Lloyd, but why do you always address Khazhak as 'brother'? Are you two related because you both have different last names? I mean, are you half-siblings like Ruby and Yang?" Weiss asks.

"We're not related," Khazhak replies while sipping his tea.

"Okay, then why does he call you that all the time instead of your first name?" Weiss asks again.

Lloyd looks away and rubs his head, "Well, that's kind of personal. And something I don't feel comfortable talking about right now. Let's just say that wherever brother goes, I go, and I respect him a lot," Lloyd replies.

Blake then looks at Khazhak, "This doesn't bother you?" she asks.

"No. He is free to call me whatever he likes. It makes no difference to me," Khazhak replies.

"They've been like this for a while now. Just go with it," Reaper says.

The others are still a little confused by this, but decide to let it be for now.

 _…Later that night, in Team KEPL's room…_

After going through a few more classes and dinner, Team KEPL return to their room to rest for the night, or do some studying. In their room, Khazhak is reading through a textbook, Reaper is writing some notes down, Porphyrius is resting, and Lloyd is in the shower.

"So, think it's a good idea that we didn't tell them about why Lloyd calls you 'brother'?" Reaper asks.

"That's personal, and they haven't fully earned my trust yet to learn that knowledge. Besides, if anyone is going to tell them, it should be Lloyd. This involves him more than it does me. If Lloyd didn't want to tell them, then neither shall I," Khazhak says before flipping over to the next page in his textbook.

"Trust must be earned, as you have said many times before. Though I have a feeling that one day they'll earn your trust, and more. After all, you said that we wouldn't do anything to help Jaune when he was being used by Cardin, and yet you gave him some advice because Ruby asked you to. Makes me wonder," Reaper notes.

"I can still throw you out the window, you know," Khazhak warns him, making Reaper chuckle.

Just then Lloyd steps out of the restroom in his pajamas, "Ah, much better," Lloyd notes before flopping down on his bed. "What a day," he says.

"You do have homework, Lloyd. Better get to it," Khazhak says.

Lloyd sighs, "Yeah, yeah. I got it," Lloyd says and goes to grab one of his textbooks. "At least we have combat class tomorrow. I haven't been called yet, so I'm hoping to get picked for a match then. I really need to fight somebody soon, or I'll get bored," he says.

"I'm sure you'll get your chance, Lloyd. Just don't lose focus and remember what I taught you, understood?" Khazhak says.

"I got it. They won't know what hit them," Lloyd notes.

"Good. Now get back to your studies," Khazhak instructs him, making Lloyd groan a little bit.

 _…The next day, in Goodwitch's class…_

The students find themselves in Goodwitch's combat class, ready for another sparring march. Currently, they see Reaper taking on Jaune Arc in the arena. Reaper stands at one side, looking fine, while Jaune is standing on the other end, looking a little exhausted. Though he and Pyrrha have been training, that training has only been going on for a week now. Jaune readies his sword and shield, while Reaper twirls his scythe around before he runs at Jaune. When he gets close, Jaune swings his sword at him, but Reaper slides under the strike and hooks his scythe blade around his left leg, making him lose his balance and fall onto one knee. Reaper comes up behind him and swings his twin scythe downwards, but Jaune blocks it with his shield. He then counters with a sword swing from behind his shield. However, Reaper narrowly leans his head back to avoid the strike and spins around to strike at Jaune's back with his twin scythe before he then hooks the blade around Jaune's neck. Reaper pulls him down onto the ground, holding his right arm down with his right foot and separating his scythes into their dual form. He uses his left scythe to hold down Jaune's left arm and keeps the right scythe close to Jaune's neck.

"I believe that is checkmate," Reaper declares.

Jaune sighs, "…I yield," he concedes, seeing no way to break free.

Reaper then releases him as Glynda walks up to them, "And that's the match. Well done, Mr. Reaper. You've shown great skill and restraint in your performance today," she praises him.

Reaper bows his head to her, "Thank you, Professor Goodwitch," he replies.

Glynda turns to Jaune as he gets up, "Mr. Arc, while you still have a long way to go, I must admit that it appears you've improved since your last sparring match. Whatever you're doing to improve yourself, keep it up," she says.

"Um, thank you, professor," Jaune says, glancing at a smiling Pyrrha.

"Now then, we still have time for one more sparring match, so let's get underway. First we'll have…Lloyd Jyousai, who has yet to really show off his skills; facing off against…Nora Valkyrie," she declares.

"Yes, finally!" Lloyd cheers as he pumps his fists, and then turns to Nora, "You and you're pancakes are mine, pancake girl," he taunts her.

"Hah, no one touches MY pancakes, especially when Ren makes them," Nora retorts.

The two students walk down into the arena, and activate their weapons, with Nora keeping her hammer in its grenade launcher form, as they await Glynda's signal.

"Aside from the initiation and training, I haven't really seen Lloyd in action, especially against another huntsmen-in-training. I wonder how he'll do against Nora," Weiss says.

"Are you kidding? Have you seen how strong and how energetic Nora is? She'll win, hands down," Ruby supports her friend.

"Don't be so sure," Khazhak notes, arms crossed.

"What do you mean? No offense to Lloyd, but I don't think Lloyd can handle her kind of power," Jaune says.

Porphyrius chuckles, "Heh-heh-heh-heh, when it comes to raw power, not even Khazhak can match Lloyd," he says.

"3…2…1…Begin!" Glynda calls out, beginning the match.

Nora fires off three grenades at Lloyd, but Lloyd jumps out of the way of one shot, ducks under another, and then smacks the third grenade out of the way like it was an empty soda can, the explosions occurring behind him. Lloyd then charges at Nora, who transforms her launcher into its Warhammer form. When he gets close, Lloyd swings his right claw blades at her first, but she leans back from it and then blocks a strike from his left claw with her weapon. Lloyd kicks her away and fires of his gauntlet guns at her. Nora rolls out of the way of most of the shots, and then spins her weapon around to block the rest of them. She then goes on the offensive and swings her hammer at his right side. Lloyd easily stops the attack with his right hand, chuckling with a smirk on his face. Nora then fires off her weapon, making Lloyd fall back onto the ground before rolling back onto his feet. Nora jumps up and swings her hammer down on him, but Lloyd swipes it away with his left hand and then punches Nora in the face, making her slide back across the arena floor.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Nora," Lloyd taunts her again.

Nora gets up, shakes her head, and then switches her weapon back into its launcher form. She fires off a few more shots at him, but this time, Lloyd activates his semblance to cover his arms in his steel armor and holds them in front of him, blocking the shots as they explode in front of him. When the dust clears, Lloyd cracks his neck and swipes his left hand across his shoulder to knock some dust off, still wearing his confident smirk. Nora grits her teeth and runs at Lloyd again, switching her weapon to its Warhammer form again. When she gets close, she spins her hammer around to use the momentum to increase the power of her attack. When the attack comes at Lloyd, Lloyd just stands there and does nothing, still smirking. The attack collides with his skull, but Nora and everyone else beside the rest of Team KEPL look on in shock as the attack didn't faze him at all. Taking a closer look, Nora sees that Lloyd encased the top of his skull and forehead in his steel semblance, nullifying the attack. Nora fires off her weapon again, but only she gets blown back while Lloyd remains motionless. The members of Team RWBY and Team JNPR look up at the board and see that Nora's aura has dropped somewhat, but Lloyd's has only dropped a little bit.

"Impossible. How can he take that attack head on, and take barely any damage at all?!" Weiss yells.

"That's Lloyd's semblance. It basically acts as a secondary shield, not needing to use up his aura as much. But, it's good for more than just defense," Khazhak says.

Nora gets up in time to see Lloyd running at her. When he gets close, Lloyd swings his claws at her, and she blocks the attacks with her weapon, but gets pushed back. Nora tries to attack with her hammer again, but Lloyd blocks it with his right forearm, pushing it back. She tries to swing her weapon again, but each time, Lloyd blocks and deflects her swings with ease. Nora growls in aggravation and jumps up for another downward swing on Lloyd. However, Lloyd grabs the hammer with his right claw, parries the attack and then pulls it out of Nora's grasp. Lloyd strikes her a few times with his claws and then he grabs her by the neck and choke-slams her onto the floor. He then jumps up and activates his semblance on his right arm.

"STEEL SMASH!" he yells and then slams his fist down on Nora, destroying the floor under her and sending smoke and debris into the air.

When the smoke clears, the class sees Lloyd standing over an unconscious Nora, with her aura in the red zone.

"And that's the match. The winner is Lloyd Jyousai," Glynda announces.

"Whoa. That was intense, and a little much if you ask me," Blake notes.

"I hope Nora's okay," Yang says, a little worried about her friend.

"She'll be fine. Her aura protected her, though I'm sure she'll have a headache later on. I'll take care of it," Ren says.

"Wow, I had no idea he could fight like that," Ruby says.

"Like I said, no one can match Lloyd when it comes to defense and sheer physical power," Porphyrius says.

"Have any of you asked yourselves what Lloyd's name means?" Khazhak asks, to which he gets a lot of shaking heads in reply. "It means the 'Grey Fortress'. Fitting, considering his semblance and fighting style," he notes.

"Oh…Does that have anything to do with why he calls you 'brother' all the time?" Ruby asks.

"If you want to know, you'll have to ask him. If he doesn't want to say, then leave him be. We all have things that we don't feel comfortable talking about just yet, don't we?" he says, glancing at Blake who looks away.

Back in the arena, Lloyd checks on Nora to see if she's alright. When he sees that she's knocked out, he does the best option to wake her up…He smacks her across the face a few times, which seems to do the trick.

"Hey, you still alive?" Lloyd asks.

Nora groans, "Ugh…I want pancakes," she says as she holds her head in slight pain.

Lloyd looks up to the others, "Good news, she's not dead!" he shouts, smiling.

"…Are you sure he doesn't have some kind of mental problem?" Weiss asks.

"Trust me, I've wondered about the same thing," Khazhak notes while rolling his eyes.

 _…Later, in the cafeteria…_

Combat class had to end a little early so repairs could be made to the arena after Lloyd damaged the floor. So the teams left, and after they got Nora checked out at the school's infirmary, the three teams all went to the cafeteria later in the day to grab some dinner.

"Feel any better, Nora?" Pyrrha asks her teammate.

"I will once I get some of Ren's pancakes in me," Nora says before Ren comes up, wheeling in several plates of pancakes for everyone, and three extra for Nora.

"It's a good thing the cooking staff let me use the kitchen. I figured Nora would want a lot of pancakes after that fight. So I decided to make pancakes for everyone. I hope you don't mind a little breakfast for dinner tonight," he says as he passes the plates to everyone and sets the utensils and butter and syrup in the center of them.

"Aw, sweet. I get to try Ren's cooking," Yang cheers.

"Thank you, Ren. We appreciate it," Reaper says while Porphyrius and Khazhak nod.

"Hey, I was the winner. Why don't I get the extra pancakes?" Lloyd pouts.

"Because you're not Nora. You don't know her like I do," Ren replies as he sets the extra plates in front of Nora, whose face is beaming in joy.

"Just be happy you're getting anything at all, Lloyd. And be glad that Professor Goodwithc didn't punish you for tearing up a part of the combat arena," Khazhak says.

Lloyd sighs, "Alright, let's just eat. I'm hungry," he says.

The group chows down on their pancakes, enjoying the taste and praising Ren for his superb cooking skills. It didn't take long for Nora to eat all of her pancakes, patting her stomach with a content sigh.

"Sometimes I wonder where she puts all of it," Ruby whispers to Weiss, who nods in response.

"Just you wait, Lloyd. I'll get you next time," Nora says.

"Hah, in your dreams, pancake girl," Lloyd taunts her.

"Hey, that's 'queen of the pancakes to you," Nora retorts.

"Yeah, you guys may have beaten two of us today, but we'll get you back soon enough," Jaune says, sounding confident.

"Really? Then are you saying that YOU can take ME on, Jauney-boy?" Khazhak challenges him with a knowing smirk.

And just like that, Jaune loses his confidence, "Uh…Heh-heh-heh, well maybe not right now, but soon enough," Jaune says nervously while rubbing his head.

Khazhak grunts before finishing his dinner, "At any rate, as long as we keep going at this pace, none of us should have a problem qualifying for the Vytal Festival Tournament. Of course, my comrades and I will dominate the competition, if they even have for us," he says.

"Don't be so sure about that. We'll be in that tournament, and we're gonna take the gold. Right, Blake?" Yang says, gesturing to her partner.

"Um, right," Blake says while reading a book at the table.

With that, the three teams finish their dinners, clean up, and return to their dorms.

 _…Later that night, in Team RWBY's dorm…_

The four girls are in their pajamas, getting ready to head in for the night when the leader gets a though in her head.

"You know, now that I think about it, we really don't know Khazhak's group all that well," she says out of the blue.

"Actually, you're right. I mean, we know that they're really tough fighters, and a little hard to talk with sometimes, but yeah, not that much really," Yang points out.

"Well…I had a conversation with Reaper twice. The first time, he said that Khazhak formed their group and became the leader because he was the strongest, though they were off to a bumpy start. However, they eventually learned to trust one another. The second time, he was telling me about how his semblance works, about how it uses fear as a weapon essentially, but is not useful against Grimm," Weiss notes.

"Actually…" Ruby trails off, getting their attention. "Khazhak told me once that he has been fighting in real battles since he was twelve, and that life hasn't been easy for him before he met his friends. I can only imagine what they've all been through. I mean, you guys saw all the scars on Khazhak's body on the first day, remember?" she says.

Yang looks down, "Yeah…then there's Reaper's mask that he never takes off, Porphyrius' eyepatch, and how Lloyd always calls Khazhak 'brother'. Things must have been tough for them before they came to Beacon, huh," she says, getting them all thinking about Team KEPL.

 _…Meanwhile, in Team KEPL's room…_

"Thanks for not telling them about the whole 'brother' thing, brother," Lloyd says while lying on his bunk.

Khazhak stands staring out the window, arms crossed again, "No problem. You don't have to tell them until you feel you're ready. It's a touchy for you after all. Just focus on your studies right now," he says.

"Yeah, right, good luck with that. Lloyd focusing on studying is like Ruby not liking cookies," Porphyrius notes.

"Hey!" Lloyd retorts.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Got to have a little more focus on Lloyd in this one. As to why he always calls Khazhak 'brother', you'll have to wait until Volume 2. Things are getting underway with the three teams as they slowly bond more and more. What awaits them in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	20. Chapter 15: Opening Up

**Here we are at Chapter 15. We've had chapters focusing on Lloyd and Reaper, now here is one focused on Porphyrius. Though, we still won't talk about his past just yet, but maybe a little bit of it in this chapter. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 15. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Opening Up**

 _…A week since Lloyd's match with Nora…_

Not much has happened since the sparring match between Lloyd and Nora. The teams have been going through their classes, training, and just hanging out when they had the time. All-in-all, things have gone back to some level of normalcy, at least, the kind of normalcy that is normal for kids training to fight monsters. Team KEPL had been going about their business as usual, but the members of Team RWBY had start to wonder a little more about them. Wondering about exactly what kind of lives they've been living before they came to the school. Another thing they notice, is that out of all the members of Team KEPL, Porphyrius is the one they know the least about. They realized that they actually know very little about him.

 _…In Professor Oobleck's class…_

Khazhak and Porphyrius sit in another of Dr. Oobleck's classes, watching him zip around the room as he gives his lesson. Meanwhile, Weiss and Blake give a few glances towards Porphyrius, hoping he doesn't notice. Not long before the class ends and the students leave the class to head to their respective destinations. As the students leave, Porphyrius stops in front of Weiss and Blake.

"Alright, why have you two been glancing at me in class earlier," he asks without looking at them.

This spooks them, "Huh? W-we don't know what you're talking about?" Weiss tries to play it off.

"You can't fool me, princess. If you two got something to say, then just say it," Porphyrius says.

"…We were just wondering, well, what was your life like before you came here to Beacon. We actually know very little about you, and we're just curious," Blake says.

Porphyrius finally turns to look at them, "And why would you want to know about that?" he asks.

"Because we're friends, aren't we? You've learned a little bit about us, so it should only be fair that we learn a little about you. That's how we get closer and work together more efficiently," Weiss explains.

Porphyrius grunts, "Hmpf. 'Fair'? That's rich, coming from you, Weiss Schnee. You want to learn more about me? Well I don't feel very talkative today, so you can forget it. I'm out of here," Porphyrius says and then leaves, leaving the two girls confused.

"What's that about? And why does he not like me so much?" Weiss asks, aggravated.

"You'll have to let him tell you that," they hear behind them and look to see Khazhak with his arms crossed. "Of course, that implies that he'll actually want to talk about his past," he says as he walks around them. "However, it won't be that easy for him to tell you," he says.

"Why? Does he not trust us?" Blake asks.

"It's not just about trust…It's about respect. When he is ready, he will tell you, but until then, I suggest you respect his desire for privacy. We all have things we don't feel like talking about. It's just worse for him," Khazhak says before taking his leave as well, leaving the two girls to think upon his words.

 _…The next day, in Team RWBY's room…_

The girls were coming back from their morning classes to rest up a bit, though the words of both Khazhak and Porphyrius still weighed on the minds of one-half of the team. This, the other half, has noticed.

"So, what's got you guys all worked up?" Yang asks as she sits on her bunk.

"Just some stuff from yesterday. It's not that important," Blake says.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asks.

"Well, we asked Porphyrius to tell us a little bit about himself and his past, but he completely shoots us down and leaves. Then Khazhak says that it's not that he doesn't trust us, but that it's about respect. That Porphyrius will tell us only when he feels like it," Weiss explains.

"…I wish they would trust us a little more," Ruby mutters.

"Maybe it's because of their pasts that it's hard for them to trust others. I've…met people that had a hard time trusting others. What I do know is that we can't push them too hard on this, or else they'll never tell us," Blake says, careful with how she words her response.

The group think on this before they go along with their day.

Later that day, Yang is seen walking towards the training room, water bottle and towel in hand, for a little workout. After a few minutes, she reaches the training room and enters through the doors, but then stops. When she gets inside, she quickly notices Porphyrius Darkwing standing some distance away from a set of shooting targets. Deciding to watch him train, she finds a spot off to the side and stays out of his line of sight. Porphyrius activates his backback, having the arms attach to his own and takes aim. After a moment, he fires off his left arm rifle at two targets, watching it get shredded with holes, then switches to his right arm rifle to fire at two more. Finally he fires off both at the same time at the next four, turning them into Swiss cheese. Finally, Porphyrius activates his semblance, purple rings of energy encircling his weapon arms, and then fires off a few gravity shots at the last two. The shots turn into their usual spherical weights when they hit, using their effect to crush the targets to the ground. Reloading his rifles, Porphyrius is about to move on until…

"Not bad," he hears behind him and turns to glance back at Yang, clapping her hands together. "Not as precise a shot as my sister, but still, that's pretty good," she says as she walks over to him.

"For snipers, they have to hit the right point with a small amount of ammo. I just have to riddle them with holes to take my enemies down," Porphyrius says as he turns away from her.

"Well, to each their own I guess. As long as it works for you, then go for it. After all, I usually just like to beat my opponents to a pulp. That works for me," Yang says.

"Look, if you're to ask me about my past, you might as well save your breath," Porphyrius says.

"I won't ask about that. Even I know when to give a guy his space. I just came here to train. Being stuck in a classroom all day has made me a little on edge, so I need to let it out. A good workout always helps with that. You mind if I use the weights?" she asks as she walks by him to the training equipment.

"Knock yourself out," Porphyrius waves it off as he sets up some more targets.

Part of the setup in the training room is equipment you would see in a local gym, for anyone looking to improve their physical conditioning. Porphyrius glances at Yang as she gets ready to perform some pull-ups as part of her workout, but she also straps 25-lb weights onto her legs, and then takes off her jacket and half-skirt. Porphyrius' eye widens at this and quickly turns away to focus on his targets. He fires off in short bursts at each target with his arm rifles, making sure his rounds hit either in the center of the targets, or around them at least. However, he would occasionally glance at Yang, seeing her do her pull ups with ease, even with the extra weight. After doing what felt like what he can only guess is thirty pull-ups, Yang takes off the weights on her legs, and then lowers herself to the ground and starts doing push-ups. Once more, Porphyrius puts his focus back on his training, shooting at some more targets and getting a large number of good shots on each of them. He goes to fix up another set for one more round, but as he sets them up, his eye looks back at Yang…and he immediately regrets that action. Due to her jacket being off, and her doing push-ups, Porphyrius got a quick, but good look at Yang's…assets. Red coating his cheeks, Porphyrius quickly looks away, silently praying to the gods that Yang didn't notice…The gods do not answer his prayers.

"Getting a good view, pretty boy?" Yang teases him as she does some more push-ups.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" Porphyrius retorts as he finishes setting up the last set of targets.

Porphyrius could not believe that he just stuttered. He, Porphyrius Darkwing, was embarrassed. Inwardly groaning, Porphyrius is just glad that Lloyd didn't see this. If he ever found out about this, Lloyd would never let him live it down.

"Are you sure? There is a good show over here?" Yang teases him again.

"I said I'm fine!" Porphyrius yells, but when he takes aim and fires off a shot, the round hits on the outside of the target, making him groan again as he lost his focus.

Yang laughs as she finishes her push-ups, "Oh, I'm just messing with you, Porphyrius. You need to lighten up a little bit, you know," she says as she sits up.

"Lightening up' was never part of the plan for me. I never had time to 'have fun' like you have," he retorts before firing off his arm rifles again.

This time, the shots ring true and nail the center of the remaining targets. Sighing in relief, Porphyrius reloads his arms and then deactivates his weapon. He takes it off to inspect in and rearm it, but then his whole body freezes when he feels something…TWO somethings…on his back.

"You know, I was always a little curious on why your weapon is sort of shaped like a backpack. I hope you're not compensating for anything," Yang says innocently, though the smirk on her face is the exact opposite.

Porphyrius quickly steps away, "First, THAT is none of your damn business. Second, you're lucky I knew it was you, because if it wasn't, you'd be on the ground right now. And third…just…what the Hell do you think you're doing?!" he yells, making sure to keep his face out of Yang's sight.

" _Okay, maybe I went a little overboard here,"_ Yang thinks before she goes to put her jacket and half-skirt back on. "Okay, I'm sorry about messing with you like that. I was just, I don't know, trying to get you to break out of your shell, and that's how I do it sometimes. I didn't mean to get you all riled up. It was just a joke," Yang says.

"Maybe to you, but not to me," Porphyrius replies as he puts his weapon back on and tries to relax. "I'm sure you know by now that I'm not the sociable type," he says.

"Yeah, I've noticed. I even have a partner that's pretty much like that. But that doesn't mean you have to block off everyone. I mean, you have your teammates, but it doesn't have to end with just them. There are others. After all, we're friends, aren't we?" Yang asks as she steps a little closer to him. Porphyrius glances back at her. "Alright, how about this? I tell you one thing about me that you don't already know, and you can tell me one thing about you that I don't know. But only if you want to; sound fair?" Yang suggests.

Porphyrius thinks about her idea and then sighs, "If I tell you something about me, will you promise not to mess with me like that ever again?" he asks.

"No promises there. That's who I am. You'll just have to deal with it," Yang replies.

Porphyrius groans, "…Fine…What is it you want to tell me?" he asks.

Yang thinks for a moment, losing her smile a bit, "…Well, my childhood wasn't as nice as you think it was. It was hard for me as well, and for Ruby," Yang says sadly, but then tries to get her smile back. "Okay, now it's your turn," she says.

Porphyrius fully turns to face her, thinking on his choice. He then raises his hand to his eyepatch.

"…I got this when I was just a little kid, a long time ago," he says sorrowfully, thinking of his past.

Yang steps a little closer to him, "I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories. I guess I wasn't thinking straight," she apologizes.

"No, it's…it's fine. You told me something about you that I could tell was a tough subject for you. It's only fair that I do the same, right?" he replies.

Yang smiles a little at this, "Right. Well, as long as you try to open more up to others, that's fine with me. But don't feel like you have to be forced into opening up. I mean, I wanted Ruby to make new friends and open up more, but I knew that I couldn't push her too hard on it, otherwise it might only make things worse. I'll tell my teammates to do the same for you. They won't bother you as much about your past like before. Just know that when you're ready to talk, we'll be ready to listen. Especially me," Yang explains, then takes a swig of her water bottle and dries herself off with a towel. "Well I only came for a light workout because I got homework to do, and I've already put off on it for a while now, so if I don't get it done, Weiss is gonna get mad. So, see ya later," Yang says and walks out of the training room, leaving Porphyrius to himself with his thoughts.

… _Later that evening, in the cafeteria…_

After a few more classes, the three teams of friends takes their usual table for dinner after a long day. Of course, it didn't take long to notice that during the dinner, Porphyrius isn't eating much of his food.

"Hey, Porphyrius, are you doing okay?" Jaune asks, a little concerned.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a lot on my mind, that's all," he replies offhandedly.

"Did something happen during training?" Khazhak glances at him.

At the mention of earlier, Porphyrius' eye widens and he makes a quick glance at Yang, who is eating her meal without a care, though the subtle glance she sends his way makes him quickly turn away to hide his embarrassment, which only makes her smirk.

"Nothing happened. I went and did some target practice, and a few shots didn't hit where I wanted them to hit. My focus was just off, even if only for a second, alright," Porphyrius tries to play it off.

"Hey, wait a minute. Yang, didn't you go to the training room earlier today for your workout. Did you see Porphyrius there?" Ruby asks.

Yang just grins, "Yeah, he was there, shooting at some targets, and I went to work on the machines. No big deal, right Porphyrius?" Yang asks him with a knowing smile.

"Um…yeah…nothing…big," Porphyrius says, as his mind wanders to the moment where Yang was standing too close behind him, and then shakes his head to get rid of the image.

Lloyd then gets a slightly evil grin, "Is there something I should know about?" he teases his partner.

"Nothing. Happened," Porphyrius says through gritted teeth.

"You know Porphryius that stutter of yours that one time was a little funny. And seeing you so embarrassed after I was able to sneak up behind you was kind of cute," Yang teases him.

"AH HA! And you say that I can't keep my cool. I can't believe you actually felt embarrassed because of a girl. HAHAHA, oh I am loving thi-," Lloyd laughs until Porphyrius punches him in the face. Lloyd falls on the floor and looks up to see Porphyrius looking livid and cracking his knuckles. "Oh, would you look at the time. Gotta go!" Lloyd says as he runs out of the cafeteria with Porphyrius right behind him.

Everyone else look on nervously, a little sweat drop, and then turn to Khazhak, who calmly sips his tea.

"Shouldn't you go after them?" Weiss asks.

"They'll be fine. It's not the first time Lloyd has gotten under Porphyrius' skin, and it will no doubt not be the last. They'll get over it," Khazhak notes, not really helping to ease the anxiety amongst the other two teams.

… _Later that night, in Team KEPL's room…_

After getting some payback on Lloyd, Porphyrius returns to the rest of the team and they return to their dorm for the night.

"Feel better now, Porphyrius?" Reaper asks.

"A little," Porphyrius notes as he sits on his bed.

Behind him is Lloyd, sprawled out on his bed, unconscious.

"Seriously though, I find it a little hard to believe that you would be embarrassed that Yang managed to sneak up on you, give your heightened senses and all," Reaper notes.

"That's not exactly the reason why I was embarrassed," Porphyrius replies.

"Oh? Then what was?" Khazhak asks from his bed.

"Um…well…I'd rather not talk about it. Please, let's just forget about it," Porphyrius says.

Khazhak shrugs his shoulders, "Suit yourself. Good night," Khazhak says before rolling over to get some sleep, with Reaper following suit.

Porphyrius sighs and is about to head in as well until he hears a ping from his scroll on his desk. He grabs it and sees that he has a message. Opening it up, he's surprised to find that the message is from Yang. It's surprising because he never gave her his contact information.

The message read, "Hey Porphyrius. First, Lloyd gave me your scroll number so I added it to my contacts. Sorry if that was a problem for you. I just wanted to let you know that I didn't tell him or my teammates about what went down in the training room today. That can be our little secret. Sorry if I made you a little uncomfortable, that's just how I am. Anyway, I hope you have a pleasant sleep and I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight," was the message with a smiley face at the end.

Despite all the trouble she caused for him today, Porphyrius was…actually a little happy that Yang didn't say anything to anyone. He thinks about just deleting the message, but ultimately decides against it and sends one of his own.

"Thank you…Goodnight," Porphyrius texts her before he turns off his scroll and goes to sleep.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A little bonding between Porphyrius and Yang because I have something planned for them in the future. As well as learning at least one thing about his past, but we won't get into that until later. Will Porphyrius open up more? Will Yang help him break out of his shell? Will Lloyd ever stop irritating him? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	21. Chapter 16: Patience wearing thin

**Here we are at Chapter 16. We're almost done with Volume 1. Get ready for some truths to be told in the near future. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 16. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Patience wearing thin**

 _…A few weeks pass by, in Vale…_

In Vale, the members of Team KEPL walk through the city, seeing shops get decorations up in preparation for the upcoming Vytal Festival.

"We've always watched the Vytal Festival on TV, so this'll be nice to actually compete it it," Lloyd notes.

"Indeed, which is why we're going to the docks. Students from one of the academies will be arriving by boat, so I want to see if we can get some information on them. Learn more about them in preparation for the tournament," Khazhak says as they approach the docks.

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament," they hear nearby and look to see Team RWBY coming to the docks as well, Blake being the one talking.

"You can't prove that!" Weiss scoffs.

"You can't prove otherwise," Khazhak notes as his team approaches them.

"Hey Khazhak, what are you doing here?" Ruby asks.

"Recon. Trying to gather some Intel on the competition for the tournament," Khazhak says.

"See, even Khazhak is doing it! Not that I had the same idea, mind you," Weiss defends herself.

"You're not fooling anyone, Weiss," Porphyrius notes.

"It's only logical to know more about your opponents than they know about you. We're just planning ahead," Reaper explains.

"Yeah, hopefully some of them will give us a good fight. I'm starting to get tired of waiting for the tournament to begin," Lloyd says while placing his arms behind his head.

"My patience is running out. I haven't had the chance to face off against Pyrrha yet, and no one else can come close to my level," Khazhak says, a little annoyed.

Eventually, Ruby turns further to her right and gasps, "Woah," she says.

They all look so see a Dust stop with the windows broken, and crime scene tape spread out blocking off the scene and on the windows. They walk up to the scene to see two detectives checking over the scene.

"What happened here?" Ruby asks one of the detectives.

"Robbery. Second dust shop to be hit this week," The detective answers before walking back to the broken window. "This place is turning into a jungle," he mutters.

 _"Looks like Roman Torchwick's work to me,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself.

Yang clicks her tongue and sighs, "That's terrible," she says.

"They left all the money again," the second detective points out.

"Excuse me?" Reaper asks.

"Yeah, it just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that must Dust?" the first detective says.

"I don't know, you know what I mean?" the second detective says.

"You thinking the, uh, White Fang?" the first detective suggests.

"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get payed enough," the second detective says, taking off his glasses.

"Hmph, the White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates," Weiss coldly says while crossing her arms and closing her eyes.

"What's YOUR problem?" Blake questions, irritated by her comment.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane," Weiss says, waving her right arm.

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus," Blake retorts, crossing her arms.

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet," Weiss says.

"Gee, I wonder who put them in that position!" Porphyrius yells, getting angry at Weiss.

"What are you yelling at me for? I didn't do anything," Weiss defends herself.

"Why you little spoiled brat!" Porphyrius yells, getting ready to lunge at Weiss before Khazhak stops him.

"Porphyrius, enough!" he commands, making Porphyrius stand down, while also scaring Weiss a little. "Porphyrius, return to our dorm. That's an order. Reaper, go with him. He needs to cool off," Khazhak orders them and the two members of Team KEPL take their leave, Porphyrius giving Weiss a massive death glare before leaving. Khazhak turns back to Weiss, "While I am no fan of the White Fang, as it is now, it is not entirely their fault that they have become a violent extremist group. There is blame on the human's side as well," Khazhak says.

"Yes, they're just VERY misguided, either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale," Blake points out.

"Hm, Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy Khazhak and I ran into a few months ago. Maybe it was him," Ruby defends Blake.

"He was robbing a DUST shop that night when I met Ruby," Khazhak further adds.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal," Weiss badmouths the White Fang.

"That's not necessarily true," Yang retorts.

"Hey, stop that Faunus!" they hear a voice back at the docks and look back.

They all run to the docks to see a Faunus boy on a docked ship, running from two crew members. The Faunus boy is a monkey Faunus, shown by the money tail. He has tan skin with short, spiky light-blonde hair, and dark grey eyes. He is wearing two red wrist bracers and an open loose collared white jacket with no shirt underneath, showing a muscular physique. He is also wearing blue cargo pants tied up with a white belt. He has on white bandages on his legs, and has a chain hanging from the belt loop on the right side of his pants. The Faunus boy gets up on the side of the boat.

"Thanks for the ride, guys. Haha," He laughs before jumping off the side of the ship and landing on the dock walkway below. He starts running before jumping up into the air.

"You no good stowaway!" one crew member shouts out.

The Faunus boy is seen hanging on a lamp post upside down by his tail, unfolding a banana.

"Hey, a no good stowaway would've been caught. I'm a great stowaway," he says before moving his head to avoid a rock being thrown at him and looking down to see the two detectives from earlier walking up to him.

"Hey! Get down from there this instant," one detective says, only to end up with a banana peel on his face and growling at the Faunus boy.

The Faunus boy swings onto the top of the lamppost, laughing before he jumps over them and lands, rolling on the dock, before he starts running away from them. He races up the stairs to the street and runs over to where Team RWBY, Khazhak, and Lloyd are. As he passes by, everything goes in slow motion as he turns to Blake and winks at her, before the slow motion stops and he runs past them with the detectives in tow.

"Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes," Yang points out.

Weiss raises a finger in the air, "Quick! We have to observe him!" She says and they all start running after him, except for Blake who remains spaced-out for a second before joining them.

They chase after the three runners and begin to catch up as the Faunus boy and the detectives run around one corner on the street. The group begin to make the turn as Weiss accidently runs into a person walking on the street and they both fall onto the ground. Everyone else stops and looks at the crash scene while Weiss raises her head to see the Faunus boy jump out of her sight as he evades the detectives.

"No, he got away!" Weiss shrieks.

"And onto more important business," Lloyd says, not caring about the Faunus boy.

"Uh, Weiss…" Yang points to the person underneath Weiss.

Weiss looks down to the person, a girl around their age, smiling at her. She flips out, quickly getting back on her feet.

The girl on the ground has short, rather curly orange hair coming down to her chin, and has a pink bow on the back of her head. She has bright green eyes, light skin and freckles. She is wearing an old-fashioned blouse with short feminine overalls, as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. She also has on a small and thin backpack.

"Sal-u-tations," the girl says, waving her left hand at them while still on the ground.

"Um…hello," Ruby hesitantly replies.

"Are you…okay?" Yang hesitantly asks.

"I'm WONDERFUL. Thank you for asking," the girl replies, still not getting up as she continues to smile at them.

 _"That settles it, she's not a normal girl,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself as everyone look at each other for a moment before looking back at her, starting to get a little creeped out by her.

"Do you…wanna get up?" Yang nervously asks again.

The girl thinks for a moment, "Yes," she says before pushing off her hands, jumping, and landing on her feet. The action makes everyone take a step back from her. "My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you," the girl introduces herself as Penny.

"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby," Ruby introduces herself.

"I'm Weiss," Weiss says.

"Blake," Blake adds.

"Khazhak," Khazhak says.

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang asks, only to have Blake hit her in the gut. "Oh, I'm Yang," she quickly corrects herself.

"Creepy," Lloyd whispers to Khazhak, who elbows him in his gut. "Oh, the name's Lloyd," he says.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Penny says again.

"You already said that," Weiss points out.

"…So I did," Penny replies.

"Well, sorry for running into you," Weiss apologizes as they all turn away from Penny and walk away.

"Take care, friend," Ruby says, waving at Penny as she walks away.

As they are walking, Lloyd looks at Khazhak, "Yo brother, what's wrong?" he asks.

"There was something off about that girl. Something, not like normal girls," Khazhak whispers to him.

"She was…weird," Yang comments about Penny.

"Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?" Weiss questions as they continue their search for the Faunus boy from earlier…until they all look to see Penny standing right in front of them.

"What did you call me?" Penny asks.

"Oh, I'm really sorry! I definitely didn't think you heard me," Yang quickly apologizes while Khazhak and Lloyd look back, wondering how she got in front of them.

"No, not you," Penny says before walking past everyone and right up to Ruby, "You," she says.

"Me?! I-I don't know, I-," Ruby stutters.

"You called me 'friend'. Am I really your friend?" Penny hopefully asks.

"Um…" Ruby starts and looks behind Penny for help. Yang is crossing her arms in an "X" for no, Blake is waving her hands and shaking her head "no", Weiss is making a throat slicing motion with her hand for "no", Lloyd is shaking his head "no", and Khazhak just shrugs his shoulders. "Y-yeah, sure. Why not?" Ruby says, making everyone behind Penny, except for Khazhak, to fall on the ground in disbelief.

Penny pumps her fists into the air, "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" she cheers.

Ruby groans as Weiss shakes the dust off her clothes, "Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby barely asks in a whisper.

"No, she seems FAR more coordinated," Weiss replies.

"So, what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asks.

"I'm here to fight in the tournament," Penny answers.

"Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?" Weiss questions, unconvinced.

"I'm combat ready," Penny says with a salute of her right arm.

 _"The way she talks, the way she acts. Is it possible that she could be…?"_ Khazhak thinks to himself.

"Forgive me, but, you hardly look the part," Weiss comments.

"This from the girl in the dress," Khazhak points out.

"It's a combat skirt!" Weiss defends her attire.

Ruby immediately shoots over to Weiss' left, "Yeah!" she supports Weiss, and gives her a low high-five, making Khahzhak facepalm.

"Wait a minute," Weiss says and walks up to Penny, grabbing her shoulders. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed…rapscallion?" Weiss questions her, making Blake and Khazhak angry at her words.

"The who?" Penny asks.

Weiss pulls out a poorly drawn picture of the Faunus boy, "The filthy Faunus from the boat!" she says.

"Why do you keep saying that?" Blake angrily asks, her patience growing thin.

"Huh?" Weiss asks.

"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!" Blake defends the Faunus boy as she walks up to Weiss.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the trashcan as a trashcan? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?!" Weiss taunts her as she gestures to the two inanimate objects.

"Stop it!" Blake yells at her, getting even angrier.

"Stop what?! He clearly broke the law. Give him time, he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang," Weiss says.

Blake clenches her left fist, "Ugh, YOU IGNORANT LITTLE BRAT!" Blake screams and walks away, shocking Weiss.

"How DARE you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!" Weiss yells back as she walks up to Blake.

"You are a judgmental, little girl," Blake criticizes her.

"What in the world makes you say that?!" Weiss asks.

"This isn't looking good, brother," Lloyd mutters to Khazhak.

"This is why I had Reaper take Porphyrius back. This is starting to get out of hand," Khazhak says, crossing his arms.

Yang moves over to Ruby, "Uh, I think we should probably go," she says as Weiss and Blake continue to argue.

"Where are we going," Penny asks, smiling as Ruby can only close her eyes at the argument before them.

"-solely based on his species make you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!" Blake argues at Weiss.

"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!" Weiss points out.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Blake argues back.

 _…Back at Beacon, in Team RWBY's dorm, at night…_

The group headed back to Beacon and are now in Team RWBY's dorm room. Porphyrius and Reaper joined them after Porphyrius calmed down, but Reaper and Lloyd were holding him back just in case he loses it again. Weiss and Blake continue to argue while Ruby, Yang, and all of Team KEPL look on in worry. Weiss and Blake are sitting on their respective beds.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" Weiss argues.

"That IS the problem!" Blake points out.

Weiss stand up, "You realize you're defending an organization that hates humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" Weiss says while crossing her arms.

Blake now stands up, "There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like YOU, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!" Blake yells back.

"People like me?!" Weiss questions her.

"You're DISCRIMINATORY!" Blake shouts back.

"I'm a VICTIM!" Weiss quickly retorts.

Everyone is quiet for a moment from Weiss' declaration.

 _"A victim? Of what?"_ Khazhak mentally questions, not buying it.

"You want to know WHY I despise the White Fang. Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus," Weiss says as she walks to the desk in front of their dorm window, placing her hands on it. "It's because they've been at war with my family for years. WAR, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear, board members executed, an entire train car full of dust, stolen," Weiss sadly mentions. "And every day, my father would come home, furious, and that made for a very difficult childhood," she angrily says, clenching her right fist and hitting the desk with it.

 _"So your father released his anger on you, huh? Just gives me one more reason to bring judgment upon him when the time comes. But, that doesn't make your beliefs about Faunus right, foolish girl,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself as he watches the scene.

Ruby walks up to Weiss and places a hand on her shoulder, "Weiss, I-," she starts, but Weiss quickly turns around, furious.

"NO!" she yells and walks back to Blake. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang. It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and MURDERERS!" she angrily yells at Blake.

Blake had had it, "Well, maybe WE were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake yells back, but a moment later realizes that she just revealed her secret as Weiss steps back out of shock, as Ruby and Yang look back in shock.

 _"And so the cat gets let out of the bag,"_ Khazhak mentally says, already knowing about Blake being a Faunus long ago.

"I-I…" Blake stutters, stepping back for a moment before racing out of the room in fear.

"BLAKE! Wait! Come back!" Ruby yells, going to run after her before Khazhak's arm stops her.

"Porphyrius, go! Stay with Blake," Khazhak orders Porphyrius, who quickly nods and runs after her. He looks back at Weiss, who has an angry expression on her face, but starts to reel back at seeing Khazhak giving her a death glare. "Porphyrius will stay with her for now. I suggest the rest of you get some sleep. You ALL have some things to think about. Team KEPL, let's return to our dorm," Khazhak says as he and his teammates leave the room.

As they leave, Reaper walks up to him, "You sure Porphyrius will be alright?" he asks.

"Porphyrius will be fine. It's Blake I'm more concerned with. We'll begin searching for them in the morning," Khazhak says.

"And what about Weiss?" Reaper inquires.

Khazhak sighs, "Let's just hope that she can get past this racism of hers soon. For HER sake," Khazhak mutters as he grasps his right blade. "I'd rather not hurt Ruby's friend, but I won't hesitate to bring judgment upon her if she continues to act like this," Khazhak darkly says as they continue walking.

… _In the Beacon courtyard…_

Blake keeps running until she ends up in front of the school statue in the courtyard. She sadly looks up at one of the warriors of the statue before looking down at the Beowolf below it. She then slowly reaches up and unties the bow on her head. When she pulls it off, she wipes a tear from her eye as her Faunus cat ears are revealed.

"So that's what was underneath the bow," a voice mentions.

Blake looks back to see Porphyrius, "What, Porphyrius? What do you want? Come to insult me, or fight me because I'm a Faunus, or bring me back?" she tearfully asks.

Porphyrius walks up to her, "No, Khazhak only gave me orders to follow you until I'm told otherwise. I knew you were a Faunus long ago. Besides, believe it or not, I understand how you feel," Porphyrius says, shocking Blake.

"What do you-," Blake begins before she's interrupted.

"I knew you would look better without the bow," a voice from behind says and they both turn to see who it is.

… _The next day, in Vale…_

Team RWBY, minus Blake, and Team KEPL, minus Porphyrius, walk down the streets of Vale in search of their teammates.

"She's been gone all weekend," Ruby sadly says, worried about Blake.

"Porphyrius is with her, so at least she has some backup in case of an emergency," Khazhak notes as they continue walking.

"Blake's a big girl. I'm sure she can handle herself," Weiss comments, not seeming to care about Blake at all.

"Weiss, come on. She's one of our teammates," Yang defends Blake.

"Is she? We all heard what she said," Weiss questions her.

"Weiss…" Ruby says, starting to get a little annoyed at Weiss' attitude.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't. Either way, she's missing and we need to find her," Yang further defends Blake.

"A member of the White Fang, right underneath our noses," Weiss says.

"We don't know that for sure," Reaper points out, before noticing Khazhak about to go ballistic.

"I just hope she's okay," Ruby mutters.

"Weiss…" Khazhak turns to her.

Weiss looks at him, only to get hit in the face and sent flying by his fist. Ruby and Yang look on in shock at what just happened.

Weiss groans in pain while Ruby and Yang check on her as Khazhak and his teammates look on.

… _At a local café in Vale…_

Meanwhile, at a local café in another part of the city, Blake is sitting at one table, taking a sip of her tea cup, before looking at Porphyrius sitting next to her and then looking at a third individual. The third person turns out to be the Monkey Faunus from the dock, who introduced himself as Sun Wukong. Currently, Sun is looking at her for a moment before taking a sip out of his own cup that he was holding with his tail.

"So…You want to know more about me," Blake says.

… _Back with RWBY and KEPL…_

"Khazhak, what are you doing?!" Ruby asks as she looks at Khazhak while Yang helps Weiss back onto her feet.

"What I should've done long ago…" Khazhak begins as he takes out his left sword with his right hand, extending it to its combat form. "…Bring judgment upon the people who harm the weak and the innocent. And bring judgment upon the family that ruined Porphyrius' life," he says, narrowing his eyes at Weiss.

"Khazhak…" Ruby mutters in shock and disbelief.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. It seems Khazhak's patience with Weiss has finally run out. As for Porphyrius, we'll learn more about him next chapter. Will Weiss survive Khazhak's wrath? Will the two teams find their missing teammates? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	22. Chapter 17: Past and Present

**Here we are at Chapter 17. Time to see if the two teams will end up fighting each other. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 17. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Past and Present**

 _..In Vale, with Teams RWBY and KEPL…_

Ruby, Yang, and Weiss look on in shock as Khazhak draws out his blades, preparing to attack Weiss. Reaper and Lloyd soon draw out their weapons, ready to join him. This makes Yang and Weiss draw out their weapons, however, Ruby does not as she stand in between all of them.

"Khazhak, what are you doing?! We're your friends, why would you want to fight us?!" she franticly asks.

"Not you or Yang, Ruby. Just Weiss. It's high time I fulfill the promise I made to Porphyrius and bring my judgment down upon the family that made his life Hell. I don't want to fight you, Ruby, but if you get in my way, I will not hesitate to strike you down too for protecting someone who doesn't care about anyone but herself and is part of a family that relishes in making the lives of others miserable," Khazhak says.

"What did I ever do to you? And besides, my family didn't do anything to Porphyrius," Weiss retorts.

"You mean you don't know? Even if you did, you probably wouldn't care, just like your father," Khazhak says, his expression becoming angrier. "We already knew that Blake is a Faunus, but we kept that to ourselves to see how things would play out. And they sure as Hell didn't play out well. That's why when she ran away, I sent Porphyrius to stay with her because at least he understands some of her pain, since they are somewhat alike," Khazhak says, shocking Weiss.

"Wait, you knew about her, and you didn't say anything?! And what do you mean that Porphyrius is like her? You were hiding a Faunus of the White-," she starts.

Khazhak interrupts her, "He's not with the White Fang, and because he's a HALF-FAUNUS, DAMMIT!" he screams.

This new information shocks the members of Team RWBY.

"Wait, he's a what?" Yang asks, feeling confused.

"Porphyrius is a Half-Faunus. Born from the union of a human mother, and a Faunus father. And his father was a worker in your family company's labor camps," Khazhak says, pointing at Weiss. "You think it's bad when Faunus are discriminated by humans, imagine how bad it is when you're hated by both sides because you're a half-breed. But his parents didn't care about that because they loved him and each other like any normal family. His father worked in the Schnee Dust Company labor camps in order to provide for his family, even with how bad the conditions were getting for all of them. One day, he had enough and spoke out against your father, protesting for better working conditions and wages since they were piss-poor. And the next day…he was brutally MURDERED on the streets. The police never bothered conducting an investigation, and so his father's killers were never caught," Khazhak explains, adding further shock to Team RWBY. "And that following night…a group of men broke into his home and tied up Porphyrius and his mother. He was forced to watch as his mother was maliciously raped, repeatedly, and then murdered, right in front of him. After they were done with her, they tortured him by cutting off his falcon wings, and then slashed his right eye for good measure, believing he would die on his own anyway. Luckily, he survived his injuries thanks to his aura being unlocked at that instant, and crawled out of his home while covered in his and his mother's blood. He healed his injuries, unlocked his semblance, created his own weapon and began traveling to become stronger. After I found him, he told me his story, and so I conducted my own little investigation. I eventually found the thugs that killed his father and mother, but before I killed them, I got them to reveal to me that they were hired to do the deed, and by the investigators that were supposed to solve their murders. So then I tracked the investigators down, and after kicking the crap out of them, they told me they were paid off by some guy in a black suit to hire the thugs and to not investigate the crimes. After I found the man they described, he wouldn't tell me who ordered the hit…but I believe it was your FATHER that planned for their deaths," Khazhak confesses, shocking Team RWBY, and Weiss even more.

"N-no, you're lying. My father would never do such a thing," Weiss stutters, unwilling to believe what she's hearing.

"Do you really believe that? You said it yourself, your dad would come home furious when things didn't go his way. He may not be able to do anything about the White Fang, but what about one of his own workers who was tired of taking his crap? Seems like a situation more under his control, wouldn't you agree?" Khazhak asks.

Weiss tries to come up with a defense, but her words have trouble leaving her mouth.

"No, my father may be having some issues with his business right now, and he may lash his anger out at me sometimes, but he would never want to have people killed," Weiss says, her voice shaking with denial.

"Don't give me that crap! Just look at yourself, you practically said that the Faunus should just crawl under a rock and die, the same thoughts and ideals that your father holds. You and your family only care about yourselves and your money. Hell, when you first met Ruby, you treated her like trash, along with most of the other new students that came to Beacon. It is because of people like YOU that so many lives have been ruined. I made a promise to Porphyrius that I would bring judgment upon the ones who did this to him, and I intend to keep that promise!" Khazhak yells before slowly inching towards Weiss.

Ruby stands in front of him," You can't be serious, Khazhak! Killing Weiss isn't going to make up for what happened to Porphyrius, even if her father really did do those things. Come on, Reaper, Lloyd, talk to him," Ruby pleads, gesturing to the other two.

"We go where brother goes. If he wants to fight you guys, then so will we," Lloyd says, siding with his leader.

"Khazhak is our leader. We owe everything to him, and we will do whatever we can to help him achieve his goals," Reaper says, spinning his twin scythe around.

"Ruby, I'm only going to ask you once; stand aside," Khazhak orders her as he gets closer to them.

"Khazhak…" Ruby mutters, as Weiss and Yang prepare to fight.

However, just as Khazhak is about to charge at them, Ruby uses her semblance to quickly move to Khazhak, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. The action stops Khazhak, making him go wide-eyed for a moment as he looks at Ruby to see her…crying.

"Ruby, what are you-," Khazhak begins.

"I won't fight my friends! And I won't have my friends fight each other either!" she screams, tears running down her face. "Khazhak, you once told me that your father always said that 'it is the duty of the strong to protect and to guide the weak.' You also said how you were trying to get Porphyrius to let go of his anger in order to become stronger. You think this will help him? You're basically doing the same thing he is, the very same thing you don't want him to do. Weiss' father may have done those things to him, but Weiss was never a part of that! She's as much a victim in this as he is. You want to help your teammate, right? You want to help your comrades, right?! Then please…please don't do this. I hate seeing you like this because you're my friend. Please…" Ruby begs, still crying.

Khazhak doesn't know what to think until he remembers something his father once told him.

 _"If the strong hurt the weak, then they can't be strong, now can they? When the innocent cry, it must be the strong to help dry their tears,"_ he remembers his father's teachings. Khazhak looks at Ruby, seeing her sad face, earning a dreadful feeling in his stomach from seeing that image. _"I…I don't want her to cry. Not like this."_

Khazhak then retracts his swords before wrapping his arms around Ruby, "Okay Ruby…I will stop. I can't break my promise to Porphyrius, but I won't try to kill Weiss, even for him. That, I promise you," Khazhak says, holding her tight.

Ruby opens her eyes to look at him before her sad face turns into a smile as they release each other, "Thank you Khazhak," she says.

Khazhak looks to Weiss as everyone else retract their weapons, "Weiss, I won't kill you. I won't stop my investigation into your father if he did order the hit, but I won't throw you into the mix, as long as you stray from his path," Khazhak says.

Weiss hangs her head a little low, unable to think of something to say.

"We still have to find Blake and Porphyrius. After that, we can sort the rest of this out later," Ruby says, walking up to Weiss and placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.

"One thing that my teammates and I have in common is that we have all suffered extreme amounts of pain and despair in our lives. We all lost our home, our families, our former lives, but Porphyrius probably had the worst of it out of all of us. When I went searching for a team of my own, I knew that they had to be people like me, those who have suffered as I have suffered and who live in the same darkness as me. I found Reaper in Mistral, Porphyrius in Vacuo, and Lloyd in Atlas. From then on, we became our own team, and travelled together, until we eventually ended up here," Khazhak explains.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Yang says, feeling sorry for Porphyrius. _"I know what it's like losing two parents. Not in the way he did, but I still understand,"_

"Anyway, just as Ruby said, we need to find Blake and Porphyrius. It would probably be best if we split up for now. That way, we can cover more ground. We'll head south while you three head north," Reaper suggests.

"Alright, call us if you find them," Ruby says as she, Weiss, and Yang go their way while Khazhak, Reaper, and Lloyd go in the opposite direction.

As they are walking, Lloyd walks up to Khazhak with a teasing smirk on his face.

Khazhak notices and asks, "What is it now?"

"Did Khazhak Rairyu just fold? Did he just buckle? To a girl two years younger than him, no less?" Lloyd teases him, earning a punch to the face. "OW!"

"Enough, we have more important things to worry about," Khazhak replies, getting a little irritated.

"He does pose a good point. I've never seen you back down from killing someone like that before," Reaper notes.

Khazhak thinks for a moment, "I just…I don't know. When I saw Ruby crying, it gave me this bad feeling in my stomach and I didn't like it. So that's why I stopped. Come on, we have to keep moving," he says before walking away.

 _"Hm, looks like the little rose has had a bigger effect on him than I thought. Interesting…"_ Reaper notes in his head.

 _…With Porphyrius and Blake…_

The three teenagers sit at the café after Blake had revealed her past to Sun and Porphyrius, about how she was once a part of the White Fang.

"So you were once a member of the White Fang, but left after it turned violent. That explains a lot," Porphyrius notes, arms crossed.

"So, have you told your friends any of this?" Sun asks her, making her close her eyes.

"No, she ran away like a pathetic coward," Porphyrius joins in, his displeasure showing.

"Hey, you could be more supportive. I thought you were her friend," Sun says, slightly angered at his statement.

"Much like Khazhak, I don't tolerate cowardice. Instead of trying to talk things out, and show some actual TRUST in her teammates, she ran with her tail between her legs," Porphyrius insults her.

"Then why are you here, anyway?" Blake asks him.

"Because Khazhak gave me orders to watch over you until they find us and we can sort this crap out," he replies.

"And if Khazhak told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?" Blake asks him.

"Yes," he answers without hesitation, shocking Blake and Sun. "I know what you're thinking, and this is not blind loyalty. I owe everything to Khazhak, including my life. After all, he was the first person aside from my parents that truly accepted me as a Half-Faunus. Besides, I know wouldn't give such a stupid order," he says, adding more shock to the others.

"Wait, you're a Half-Faunus?" Sun asks.

"Yes, but it's best if I start from the beginning…" Porphyrius says and tells his story to them. After he finished, they had severely sad expressions on their faces. "You guys may have it rough, but I got it worse. However, unlike you," Porphyrius says, pointing at Blake, "I was never ashamed of my heritage and I never made any big attempts to hide it. People just either never asked or never noticed until much later when getting to know me. But, Khazhak didn't care about that, he only saw me for me. He gave me the one thing I always desired, acceptance. And unlike you, I actually trust my teammates," Porphyrius says, glaring at Blake.

"What do you mean? Of course I trust them," Blake tries to deny him.

"You sure showed that when you ran away. Now, I admit, I don't like or trust Weiss Schnee because of what her family did to me, but you could have at least trusted Ruby and Yang. They aren't the types to judge," Porphyrius scolds her. Blake tries to retort, but can't think of a response and just hangs her head. "But we'll worry about that later. For now, we need to figure out what to do about the dust robberies and the White Fang situation."

 _…With Ruby, Weiss, and Yang…_

The three girls continue searching for their lost teammate.

"Blake!" Ruby calls out.

"Blake!" Yang calls out her name as well.

"Blake! Where are you?!" Ruby calls out again.

"Blake!" Yang shouts as Ruby turns to Weiss.

"Weiss, you're not helping," Ruby says.

"Oh, you know who might be able to help; the police," Weiss suggests.

Ruby groans, "Weiss," she growls, crossing her arms in aggravation.

"It was just an idea!" Weiss replies.

"Yeah, a bad one," Ruby says as they keep walking.

"Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions. Remember what Khazhak said," Yang supports her sister.

"I think when we hear it, you'll ALL realize that I was right," Weiss retorts.

"And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today," Penny says as she suddenly appears behind them.

Ruby freaks out, "Ahh! Penny, where did you come from?!" Ruby screams as they turn around to see her.

"Hey guys. What are you up to?" Penny asks, waving a hand at them in greeting.

"Uh…" Ruby tries to answer.

"We're looking for our friends, Blake and Porphyrius," Yang clarifies.

"Oh, you mean the two Faunus people," Penny says, confusing the other three as to how she knew that.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Ruby asks.

"Well, with Porphyrius, I could just tell for some reason. As for Blake, the cat ears," Penny replies, pointing at the top of her head.

"What cat ears? She wears a…bow…" Yang says as realization sets in.

"She does like tuna a lot," Ruby mutters, as a tumbleweed rolls by from a random breeze.

"So, where are they?" Penny asks.

"We don't know. They've been missing since Friday, but Porphyrius was sent by Khazhak to watch over her until we find them," Ruby says.

Penny gasps, walking up to Ruby and grabbing her arms, making Ruby give off a nervous smile, "That's terrible! Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend. I won't rest until we find your friends," Penny says, hand on her hips.

"Uh, that's really nice of you Penny, uh but, we-were okay, really. Right guys?" Ruby looks to Yang and Weiss…only to see that they already left and are long gone.

Penny then sees the same tumbleweed from before roll by again as another random breeze comes by.

"It sure is windy today," she says.

… _With Blake, Porphyrius, and Sun…_

Blake, Porphyrius, and Sun are currently walking through the city, thinking of what their next move should be.

"I would suggest returning to the scene of the crime, but I don't think we'll be able to get any kind of helpful information there," Porphyrius notes.

"So, what's the plan now?" Sun asks, resting his hands behind his head.

Blake sighs, "I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much dust before," Blake says, turning to Sun.

"Well, we can't rule them out yet since we don't have enough evidence to prove otherwise," Porphyrius notes, right hand on his chin.

Sun comes up with an idea, "What if they did? I mean, the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there. Right?" Sun suggests, standing in front of them, smiling and pointing fingers at them.

"Look for a place of opportunity and wait for the prey to show up and take the bait. Could've worded it differently, but I see your point," Porphyrius agrees.

"The only thing is, I have no idea where that would be," Blake says, and starts thinking of a suitable place.

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of dust coming in from Atlas," Sun mentions.

"How huge?" Blake asks.

"HUGE. Big Schnee Company freighter," Sun notes.

"You're sure?" Blake asks further, earning a smile from Sun as an answer.

"The Schnee Dust Company, huh. Large shipment of dust, owned by a company they've been attacking for years. If the White Fang is involved, then I'll bet my left eye that that's where they'll hit next," Porphyrius says.

"Alright, let's check it out," Blake says, and they move to the docks.

… _With Weiss and Yang…_

Weiss and Yang leave a local store, still searching for their missing friends.

"Thanks anyways," Yang says to the owner inside as the door closes with a bell ringing. Yang sighs, "This is hopeless. You really don't care if we find them do you?" Yang questions Weiss, giving her an accusing look.

"Don't be stupid, of course I do. I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her," Weiss defends, walking ahead before turning back to Yang. "The innocent never run Yang," she says before turning around and walking ahead.

Yang looks down for a moment before looking back up, "Well, from what Khazhak said earlier, your family sure doesn't seem so innocent," she says as she catches up to Weiss.

"Don't tell me you actually believe that lightning-wielding brute over your own teammate?" Weiss incredulously asks.

"I may not know Khazhak all that well yet, but I know that he cares about his teammates like they were his family. Heck, in a way, they ARE his family, so I highly doubt he would lie about something like that," Yang retorts, getting in front of Weiss' face.

"So you would just blindly believe him, even when there is little to no evidence to prove his accusations?" Weiss questions her.

"Look who's talking. You immediately made Blake out to be a criminal without even asking for her side of the story. I know it doesn't look good right now, but that doesn't mean she is a criminal like YOU think she is. You need proof, and I know that you don't have that," Yang explains, starting to get a little angry.

"I-I," Weiss starts.

"And what about Porphyrius, huh? Is he another criminal too JUST because he's a Half-Faunus? He certainly hasn't shown any signs of wanting to be your friend since your father may have had his parents killed. Now, I'm not saying that it's true, but it would definitely give him reason to hate you," Yang interrupts her. She then grabs Weiss' shoulders, "Be honest, do you think he's lying?!" Yang nearly yells.

Weiss hesitates for a moment before hanging her head, "I…I don't know. I want to believe he's wrong, but…the more I think about it, the more I think he might be right. My father never did like it when people went up against him, especially when it came to his business," she says.

"Well, until we know all we can find out, I suggest you hold off on making any pointless accusations without looking at all the facts," Yang says before releasing Weiss, and begins walking ahead of her.

"Um…when did you suddenly become so protective of Porphyrius?" Weiss asks her as she starts to follow Yang.

Yang sighs, "Because I know what it's like to lose a parent. I'd rather not talk about it right now. Let's just keep looking for them," she says as they continue their search, making Weiss think about some things.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Now we know why Porphyrius hates Weiss' family so much and how he got his injuries. The next chapter will be the Volume 1 finale, and it may be a long one. Will they find their teammates in time? Will Weiss and Blake make up? And what about Porphyrius? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	23. Chapter 18: Past and Present - Part 2

**Here we are at Chapter 18. This is the Volume 1 finale. Time to see if the teams can get back on the same page. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 18. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Past and Present – Part 2**

… _Later that night, at the Vale docks…_

Blake is laying on the roof of a building, watching over the docks as a ship just finished unloading crates with the Schnee Company logo on their sides. A moment later, Porphyrius appears.

"So far, everything has been quiet. I guess that can either be a good thing, or the calm before the storm," Porphyrius says as he appears to Blake's left, kneeling next to her.

"So, did I miss anything?" they turn to Blake's right to see Sun show up, with a few green apple in his arms.

"Not really. They've offloaded all the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there," Blake informs him.

"Cool. I stole you guys some food," he says, offering a green apple to her while Porphyrius just gives him a look that says "seriously".

"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" she asks him, raising her eyebrows.

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something? And aren't you like some sort of living taboo?" he asks the both of them. Blake and Porphyrius just give him death glares. "Okay, too soon," he quickly says before looking away.

Suddenly, a rush of wind blows from behind them and they look up to see a bullhead airship coming down from the air, with its spot lights on as it goes and lands at the docks, in between the crates. After it lands, members of the White Fang start walking out and loading up.

"And we struck gold, unfortunately," Porphyrius says.

"Is that them?" Sun asks.

"Yes…It's them," Blake answers back.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asks her.

"No, I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right," Blake says sadly.

"Face reality Blake. The White Fang you were once a part of, died five years ago. All that is left are these killers that have given in to anger and their thirst for revenge," Porphyrius says, activating his weapon, its mechanical arms attaching to his and the guns being cocked.

"Hey! What's the hold up?" they hear a voice from the airship and go wide-eyed at seeing the person who spoke. "We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, sooo why don't you animals try to pick up the pace," that person turns out to be Roman Torchwick as he walks out of the airship.

"You've got to be kidding me. Roman Torchwick is here? Khazhak's gonna love this," Porphyrius says.

"This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a human, especially not one like that," Blake says as she stands up and draws out her blade before jumping off of the roof of their building.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Sun tries to stop her, but she doesn't listen.

"That idiot. If she doesn't get HERSELF killed, I'm gonna kill her when this is over," Porphyrius says before jumping down to follow her.

Blake lands on the ground and moves to hide behind one of the crate, looking over one corner at Torchwick from behind him.

"No, you idiot. This isn't a leash," Roman berates one White Fang member who is holding a tow cable. A moment later, Blake quickly appears behind him, with her sword at his throat. "What the-oh for fu-."

"Nobody move," Blake warns them as one White Fang member points his gun at her while another draws out a sword.

"Woah! Take it easy there, little lady," Torchwick says as more White Fang members surround them.

Blake eyes them for a moment before she takes off her bow, revealing her cat ears, "Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?" she questions her former allies, making them hesitate for a moment.

Torchwick chuckles, "Oh kid, didn't you get the memo?" he playfully asks her.

"What are you talking about?" she angrily asks him.

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together," he says.

"Tell me what it is, or I'll put an end to your little operation," Blake demands, inching her blade closer to Torchwick's neck.

Suddenly, a rush of wind blows by, and they both look up.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation," Torchwick says as two more Bullhead airships appear above them.

With Blake focused on the airships, Roman smiles before aiming his cane at her feet, and pulling the trigger, causing an explosion that sends her flying backwards.

 _…With Khazhak, Reaper, and Lloyd…_

Khazhak, Reaper, and Lloyd are searching in their area until they see the smoke cloud from the explosion.

"…Crap," Khazhak mutters.

… _Back at the Docks…_

Blake is shaking her head on the ground as Roman fires off another shot from his cane. Blake looks up and quickly rolls out of the way from three shots and gets back on her feet. Roman fires off three more shots, to which she evades by doing two backflips, and then using her semblance to jump back from the third shot. She then starts running to her left behind some crates as Roman takes another shot at her before he starts walking aft her.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty," he mutters until a banana peel drops on his head.

He takes it off and looks up to see Sun above him.

"Woo-hoo!" Sun yells as he falls, his feet landing on Roman's face, forcing him to the ground as Sun jumps off him, does a roll and then two front flips before landing on his feet and looking back at Roman. "Leave her alone," he says, eyes narrowing at Roman.

Next, the two airships in the air open their side doors as several White Fang member jump out of them and surround Sun, either with guns or swords.

"You are not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you kid?" Roman rhetorically asks.

"Well, you're no genius yourself, Roman," they hear a voice and look up to see Porphyrius falling above them, firing off his rifles at some White Fang members before landing on one with his feet and then jumping over Sun, landing on the ground with his weapons raised at more enemies.

"Hey, not bad. Now, let me show you what I can do," Sun says as more White Fang members charge at them.

Sun throws a right punch, then backhands it at one thug, knocking him away, and then spins to evade another attacking with a sword before hitting him with his tail, and then spin kicks another enemy. He then kicks another goon, pushing off of him and rolling on the ground before he pulls out his weapon, Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang, from under his jacket. His weapons are dark red with gold details, and can take the form of a bo staff, and a pair of gold-chain-linked lever-action shotgun nunchaku. He pulls out the weapon and it extends into its bo staff form, and he slams it against one thug before spinning it and hitting another. He then spins it around him and over him again, while hitting another White Fang member multiple times, sending him flying. As two more enemies approach him, Sun spins his staff before slamming it into the ground, releasing an orange shockwave that knocks out the other two. A third goon tries to attack, but Sun kicks him and starts breakdancing while spinning his staff, simultaneously hitting the last goon on his side.

Meanwhile, Porphyrius fires off his rifles, taking out two enemies, before back-flipping over a third attacking from behind and spin kicks him aside. He then blocks two sword strike on his sides with his own swords before wrapping his arms around the two attackers' arms, and backflips, sending them flying backwards onto the ground. Next, he fires off his guns at another thug, before back-kicking another from behind and does three strikes with his swords, taking him down. He then jumps into the air spinning while firing off his rifles, taking out two more White Fang members before landing. Once he lands, one more thug attacks his left flank, but Porphyrius blocks it before kicking him in the face three times, throws him in the air, and then shoots him for good measure.

"Hey, not bad, one-eye. You're almost as good as me," Sun playfully compliments him as he spin kicks another goon.

"Keep dreaming, banana breath," Porphyrius taunts him as he jumps over another goon before slashing his chest and then backflip kicks him away.

Meanwhile, Blake looks on as she tries to get closer to Torchwick. As Sun is breakdancing on the ground, he dodges one sword strike from another enemy before he kicks him, flips over him, planting his feet on his back onto the ground, and then kicks him away. The goon gets sent flying over to Torchwick, who ducks under him, before firing off another shot from his cane. Sun spins his staff as a shield to block the shot as Blake appears in front of him.

"He's mine!" she yells before charging at Roman.

Blake takes out her two blades, swinging her left blade at him which he blocks and then swings his cane at her. She ducks under it and then swings her blades at him, only to be blocked again. She spins with her swords before back-flipping into the air, then using her semblance to shoot towards Roman with another strike that gets deflected. Using her semblance again, she shoots at his right with another strike that gets blocked by his cane as he spins to evade the attacks, and he blocks another strike when she charges back at him. She then spins in the air at him, swinging her swords, to which he blocks her attacks twice. Roman then punches her in the face, but she uses her semblance to deflect the blow and backflips onto her feet and blocks his cane with her swords. She attempts to stab him with her right sword, but he deflects it with his cane and then hits her in the stomach with it before swinging it upwards and hitting Blake's face. Roman then spins his body before swinging his cane, hitting her again and making her stumble backwards, and then hits her again with it, knocking her to the ground.

However, as Blake is falling, Porphyrius jumps over her and kicks Roman back. He then starts firing off his rifles, but Roman spins his cane to block the shots. However, Porphyrius starts slashing his blades at him, and the two parry each other's attacks. At one point, Roman throws a right punch at Porphyrius, but he kicks him higher into the air before he jumps and spin kicks him onto the ground. While on the ground, Roman looks up to see crate hanging over them by a crane. Roman gets up and then shoots at the hook of the crane holding up the crate, destroying it and causing the crate to fall to them. Porphyrius and Blake backflip out of the way while Sun jumps forward onto the ground. As he starts to get up, he looks over his shoulder to see Roman pointing his cane at him, smiling.

"LIGHTNING SLASH!" a voice yells as a crescent moon shaped wave of blue lightning comes at Roman. Roman fires at it, only for Khazhak to suddenly appear from the smoke of the explosion, and kick Roman away from Sun.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Roman Torchwick, I've been looking for you," Khazhak says while Reaper and Lloyd go to fight more members of the White Fang.

Reaper twirls his twin-scythes around to knock back three White Fang members and then send a fourth into the air, only to get grabbed and slammed into the ground by Lloyd. Lloyd then runs at a few more, spearing one to the ground, and then slashing his claws at another two before sending them crashing into a shipping crate.

Roman gets back up, "Why, hello there, blue. Shouldn't you be doing your homework right now?" Roman taunts him.

"I am. Taking care of scum like you is my extra credit assignment," Khazhak mocks him.

Khazhak then runs at Roman before spinning in the air, swinging his blades, to which Roman blocks, before Khazhak fires his guns which make Roman stumble back. Khazhak lands on the ground before charging at Roman again, swinging his right sword at him for it to get blocked, and then swinging his left at Roman's feet. Roman blocks, but Khazhak fires his right sword gun, hitting Roman and making Khazhak spin as he swings his swords again, but Roman blocks them. Khazhak then jumps and spins in the air, swinging his swords at Roman who blocks them, but then Khazhak manages to spin onto Roman's shoulders before he flips backwards, sending Roman flying onto the ground. Khazhak then quickly runs at Roman, and before he can get back on his feet, swings his right sword upwards, knocking Roman away and back onto the ground. Roman then staggers back to his feet before he stares back at Khazhak.

"Hey!" a voice yells from Khazhak's right, making him turn.

Khazhak then sees Ruby on the roof of a nearby building, her sniper scythe deployed, spinning it and stabbing it onto the roof.

"Oh, hello there Red! Isn't it passed you're bed time?" Roman taunts her.

Penny walks up behind Ruby, "Ruby, are these people your friends?" she asks.

"Penny, get back," Ruby tells her as she turns to Penny.

Seeing Ruby taking her eyes off him, Roman fires his cane at her, getting a direct hit, and sending Ruby screaming and flying backwards, and laughs maniacally at her.

"RUBY!" Khazhak yells.

Penny looks at Ruby for a moment before she turns back to Roman, with a mad look on her face. She then starts walking in front of Ruby.

"Penny, wait! Stop!" Ruby begs her as she starts to get up.

"…Don't worry Ruby. I'm combat ready," Penny replies, narrowing her eyes.

Penny's small backpack then opens up like a machine, and a gray blade with a luminous green power symbol at the center of a bronze-colored hilt, with a green line running parallel to one side, floats out from the opening. The single blade then splits into ten blades of the same design, spreading out behind her almost like wings, and she then jumps of the roof and into the battle. Three blades shoot forth, taking down two White Fang members before she lands on the ground, her swords spinning behind her. She then moves her arms, and the swords spin like a disc, knocking out one goon before thrusting them at another into a nearby crate. Two more thugs run and jump at her, but her blades return to her, spinning and making a shield that deflects them back. Another comes at her from behind, but she backflips with her sword hitting him, before she lands and then throws her swords, spinning like a disc, which barrels through ten more goons running at her like bowling pins.

"Woah!" Sun says as he watches this unfold before he moves away, as does Porphyrius.

Suddenly, three Bullhead airships show up, and start firing their guns at Penny. Penny blocks the shots with her swords spinning as a shield, and then two more swords appear from her backpack before they shoot over and stab themselves into a building behind her. Penny is pulled away from the enemy fire towards the building. When Penny lands, her swords fold into a more compact gun-like shape, and start spinning in front of her, a green orb of energy forming in the center of the circle. Penny charges her attack for a moment before thrusting her arms forward, firing a massive beam of green energy that cuts two of the airships in half before falling over Ruby and into the bay, her watching the scene before turning back to Penny. Penny looks up at another airship with a crate attached underneath it. She then sends six of her swords to stab it at one side, and begins walking backwards as she pulls the ship to her with the help of her swords' strings.

"Woah, how is she doing that?" Ruby asks herself as she watches Penny.

The airship tries to pull away, but is having little success. Roman sees this and turns to run to a nearby airship that landed behind him, but stops when a shot hits the ground in front of him. He looks to his right to see Khazhak aiming his swords at him.

"You hurt Ruby…" Khazhak mutters before raising his head, an extremely angry look on his face. "…You just made a big mistake," he mutters again before fusing his swords into their greatsword form.

Khazhak then charges at Roman, faster than before, and strikes Roman, hard, into the side of a crate behind him. Khazhak jumps into the air before slamming his sword onto the crate, destroying it, but Roman manages to roll out of the way. Roman fires off his cane at Khazhak, but he uses his sword as a shield and blocks it before firing off his guns at Roman, who shoots the rounds with his cane. Khazhak goes to fight him again, but seven White Fang members get in his way, allowing Roman to escape to the airship. Khazhak charges up his sword as they come to attack him.

"LIGHTNING TORNADO CRUSHER!" he yells, swinging his sword and sending a horizontal twister of blue lightning at his enemies, taking them all out in a massive explosion.

Meanwhile, Penny manages to pull the airship she is pulling straight into a pile of crates, sending them flying and the airship exploding.

"These kids just keep getting weirder," Roman says as he uses his cane to pull the door on the airship closed and it then takes off.

Penny and Khazhak chase after it, only for another airship to fire at them, making them jump back. Khazhak charges his sword again before holding it in a reverse grip, and aiming it at the airship.

"LIGHTNING SCREWDRIVER!" Khazhak yells as the throws his sword, which starts spinning like a drill as it is engulfed in blue lightning and destroys the airship in one hit.

The sword then ceremoniously falls back into Khazhak's hands as he and Penny watch Roman's airship and another airship fly away into the night.

"Damn…" Khazhak mutters.

… _A little later that night…_

Police soon arrive to secure the scene, and Khazhak and the gang are sitting on wooden crates until they notice Weiss and Yang walking towards them.

"Here come the fireworks," Reaper mutters.

"Look Weiss, it's not what you think. She explained the whole thing. You see, she doesn't actually wear a bow, she has kitty ears, and they're actually kind of cute…" Ruby tries to explain to Weiss, who just walks by her and right up to Blake.

"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with-," Blake starts, but Weiss interrupts her.

"Stop…" Weiss tells her, an unhappy look on her face. "Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you?...Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And, in that twelve hours, I've decided…"she says as everyone looks on with concerned expressions. "I don't care," she declares.

"You don't care?" Blake asks, confused.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?" Weiss asks.

"No, I-I haven't since I was a-," Blake starts

"Ah-bup-bup-bup-bup!" Weiss interrupts her, raising her right hand. "I don't to want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something THIS big comes up…You'll come to your teammates, and not some…someone else," Weiss says, gesturing to Sun when she catches herself before saying something wrong about him.

Blake looks at everyone, each one of them giving her a smiling face, except for Khazhak who just nods his head at her, and she cries a little.

Blake wipes her right eye, "Of course," she says, to which Weiss smiles at.

Ruby looks at both of them for a moment, "Yeah, Team RWBY is back together!" Ruby cheers, pumping her fists in the air, and then everyone comes closer together.

"I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you," Weiss says while pointing her finger at Sun, to which Sun just nervously laughs.

Weiss then looks towards Porphyrius, "Porphyrius, I…I-," she begins, but Khazhak finishes.

"Porphyrius…they know," Khazhak confesses, and Porphyrius quickly figured out what he meant.

"So you told them, huh?" Porphyrius says, not too pleased about it with him not being there.

"They would've found out eventually. I will keep the promise I made to you, Porphyrius, but I also promised Ruby that I would not kill Weiss. I almost gave into my anger at her, but Ruby helped me realize what is important. I know I can't get you to just drop your anger against her family that easily. But, I ask that you try to let go of your anger with her," Khazhak says.

Porphyrius looks down, thinking for a moment before looking back up to Weiss, and sighs.

"Weiss, I can never forgive your father for what he did to my parents," he starts, making Weiss frown. "…But I will try to get along more with you," he says, making her show a small smile.

Khazhak smiles at this, "Good. Team KEPL, let's go home," he says, and they begin to leave.

"Wait, Porphyrius," Yang calls out to him.

Porphyrius turns around only to see Yang come up to him and give him a big hug, but not one of her backbreaking hugs, but a gentle embrace.

"Listen…I know what it's like to lose a parent. I'm not giving you pity, but if you ever just want to talk, then I'm all ears," Yang says to him.

Porphyrius is left speechless, unable to say anything. However, he can't help but blush a little bit, one from the embrace, and two from Yang's large chest pressed up against his. He looks over to his teammates, and Lloyd gives him a thumbs up. Porphyrius hesitantly hugs Yang back.

"Uh, thanks Yang," Porphyrius nervously says before they end the hug.

"Hey, Khazhak," Ruby looks at Khazhak, who turns to her. "Thanks for listening to me before. And I saw how angry you were when Roman attacked me. Were you really that angry about that?" she asks innocently.

"I…I just didn't like that he hurt you. I don't like it when anyone hurts any of my comrades," Khazhak says.

"Well, thanks for looking out for me," Ruby says, resting her hands behind her back.

Khazhak then affectionately rubs Ruby's head like he always does, "Always, little rose. Come on, let's all go home now," he says, and then everyone heads back to Beacon.

Ruby then notices something, "Hey, wait a minute. Where's Penny?" she asks as they look around to see that Penny is gone, not noticing a black car drive off.

 _…Back at Beacon…_

In Professor Ozpin's office, Ozpin is watching a live feed of the docks, particularly on Ruby and Khazhak. He then gets a message with the sender named "Qrow" and the message saying "Queen has pawns."

"Hm," Ozpin hums to himself. _"It looks like they may begin their move soon. I only hope Ruby, Khazhak, and the others don't have to get too involved in this._

… _Later that night, in the Emerald Forest…_

Khazhak is seen walking through the Emerald Forest until he enters a small clearing in the forest. He waits with his eyes closed for a few moments, until…

"…She's here…" he mutters and opens his eyes. Just then, a black and red portal appears in front of him. Khazhak draws his swords and narrows his eyes, "Looks like it's time for my next lesson…"

* * *

 **And that's the chapter and the Volume 1 finale. Looks like things are good with Team RWBY again, and things are starting to get better between Porphyrius and Weiss. Only time will tell if Porphyrius can truly get along with Weiss. What awaits these two teams in the future? Who is the one meeting Khazhak in the Emerald Forest? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	24. Chapter 19: The Pain of Loss

**Here we are at Chapter 19. A little in between before we get into the next semester for our teams. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 19. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: The Pain of Loss**

 _…A week after the docks incident, in Team RWBY's dorm…_

A week has passed since Team RWBY got back together at the docks. Blake had already relayed her past to the rest of the team, and was surprised to find out that they didn't think differently of her, including Weiss. While there may still be some tension between the two, they have gotten better at communicating with each other, and not just them. From Team KEPL, Porphyrius has been trying to get along better with Weiss, and has made some success, though he still has some ways to go. Currently, the four girls of Team RWBY are in their dorm room, each left to their own devices.

"Well, things went from awesome to boring in no time flat," Yang sighs as she plays a game on her scroll.

"Don't you mean things have finally calmed down a little bit after all that chaos last week…Again, sorry about that by the way," Weiss notes as she studies, the last statement directed at Blake.

"No problem. That's behind us now. Besides, I prefer peace and quiet," Blake adds while reading a book.

"Well, we have the break coming up soon, and then next semester, followed by the Vytal Tournament. I'm sure things will get pretty exciting in the near future," Ruby says before practically inhaling a cookie from her tray.

"I wish 'exciting' would happen now, not later," Yang groans. A few second later, they suddenly hear someone screaming outside their window, followed by a loud bang. "Um, I really wasn't expecting my wish to be granted so soon, or at all," Yang notes.

Ruby hops off her bunk and opens up their window. They all look outside, seeing nothing until they look to the ground…and find Lloyd in the center of a large set of cracks on the ground.

"What the Hell, man?! I didn't think you heard me!" they hear Lloyd yell up.

The four girls look confused and turn to their left to look at the window for Team KEPL's dorm…just in time to see Reaper get thrown out of the window. Reaper falls towards Lloyd and Lloyd ends up catching him bridal style. Reaper just looks at him and then punches him in the face, making Lloyd drop him onto the ground.

Reaper gets on his feet and looks up, "I can't believe you just THREW me! I knew you were serious, but come on!" they hear Reaper yell up.

Once again, the girls look over to Team KEPL's window, but see no one on the other side.

"So…anyone got any ideas about what's going on with them?" Yang asks.

Ruby leaves the window and exits her room to walk over to the boys' room. When she stands right in front of it and goes to knock, the door opens up to reveal Khazhak on the other side, carrying a bag on his back.

"Um, hey Khazhak, what's going on? I-I mean, I'm sure everything's okay, it's just I don't usually see Lloyd and Reaper…falling out a window. Or…at all really," she nervously says.

Khazhak makes no response and leaves his room to head down the hall, leaving Ruby watching from outside his dorm.

"Hey Ruby," she hears and looks inside to find Porphyrius laying on his bed. "What's up?" he says.

"Um, hey Porphyrius. I was just wondering…Why were Lloyd and Reaper thrown out the window?" she asks as she steps inside.

"Oh, that. Well, it kind of goes like this…" he begins.

 _…A little earlier, in Team KEPL's room…_

"You heading out somewhere, brother?" Lloyd asks as he sees Khazhak grabbing a backpack out from their closet.

"I have some things I need to get…It's that time of year again," he says, a little melancholy.

"Oh…I see. I guess I forgot about that," Lloyd says as he realizes what he means.

"I need to use the restroom, then I'm heading out," Khazhak says and enters the restroom.

Lloyd then turns to Reaper, who's sitting on his bed, "This sucks. A girl is supposed to be excited for their 'sweet 16' birthday, right? Too bad his sister isn't around to enjoy it. And he can't enjoy it with her," he says as he crosses his arms.

"Indeed. We do not have any siblings, so we cannot understand the pain of losing one. Not like Khazhak," Reaper notes.

"I'm surprised you're so understanding about this, Lloyd. I mean, not to sound like a total jerk, but aren't you a little annoyed when he focuses on her more than you on this day?" Porphyrius asks.

"I'm not trying to replace his sister, I never was. I get that he needs some place on this day, and I am perfectly fine with that. Although…sometimes I can't help but wonder…" Lloyd trails off.

"Wonder about what?" Reaper asks.

"I mean, Khazhak described what his sister looked like when they were kids, but what do you think she would look like now if she was alive?" Lloyd asks.

"I'm sure she would look like a fine, young lady. Although, I really don't see how that is any of our business," Reaper says.

"I know that, but don't you think that maybe by this time, she would look pretty cute, or even smoking hot," Lloyd says, grinning.

"Better hope Khazhak doesn't here you say that about his sister," Porphyrius notes.

"Oh relax, he's in the bathroom. I doubt he can hear me. Besides, it's not like I'm saying anything bad about his sister. I was actually making a compliment," Lloyd tries to point out. Just then, they hear a toilet flush, and a moment later, they see Khazhak come out. "Hey, brother, guess you'll be heading out now?" Lloyd asks, but Khazhak just stares indifferently at him. "Um, brother, you okay?" he asks, confused.

A moment later, Khazhak throws Lloyd out the window. Though surprised, Lloyd reacts quickly enough to activate his semblance to encase his body in steel. When he hits the ground on his feet, the impact heavily cracks the ground, but Lloyd comes out of it okay.

He then looks up, "What the Hell, man?! I didn't think you heard me," he yells.

Back up in the dorm room, Khazhak walks by Reaper, "One word, and you're out there with him," Khazhak says.

Reaper holds his arms up in surrender, "Okay," he mutters. Khazhak stops and looks back at him. On the ground, Lloyd looks up to see Reaper suddenly get thrown out of the window. Reaper falls down and Lloyd catches him in his arms. When Reaper looks at him, Lloyd smirks at him, but then gets punched in the face, causing him to drop Reaper. Reaper gets back on his feet. "I can't believe you just THREW me! I knew you were serious, but come on!" he yells.

Khazhak then hoists his backpack on his back, "I'll be back," he says and gets ready to leave…

 _…Flashback end…_

"…And that basically brings us to now," Porphyrius says, still laying on his bunk.

"Um, okay…You guys were talking about his sister? I never knew he has a sister," Ruby notes.

"That's because he prefers not to talk about his family. And we give him his space. Everyone has things they'd rather not talk about to just anyone," Porphyrius says.

"Did something happen?" Ruby asks, concerned.

Porphyrius rolls over on his bed, "You're better off asking him about that. Though I doubt he'll be willing to answer you," Porphyrius says.

Seeing that the conversation is over, Ruby leaves the room, but then looks down the hall to where Khazhak walked off to. Ruby then walks back to her room, where her teammates are waiting with anticipation for an explanation.

"So, what happened with the boys, sis?" Yang asks.

"Um, well…Khazhak has a sister," Ruby announces.

"…WHAT?!" all three members shout out.

"Khazhak has a sister?! Since when did that happen?!" Yang exclaims.

"I'm finding it hard to believe that there would be two of them. Khazhak is one thing, but what would his sister be like!" Weiss adds.

Luckily, Blake is more calm about it, "Well…Then again, we never did ask him if he had any siblings," she points out.

"Okay, so our resident walking electric battery has a sister. What does that have to with Lloyd and Reaper getting thrown out of the window like yesterday's garbage?" Yang asks.

"Well, apparently today involves Khazhak's sister in some way, and Lloyd said some things about her. Nothing bad, but it was enough to get Khazhak to throw him out. Porphyrius said that Reaper got thrown out because Khazhak warned him not to say a word about it, and he didn't exactly listen," Ruby explains.

"Okay…well…I can expect Khazhak to do something like that. He has always been the type to move to the beat of his own drum. Though, we are on the fourth floor, so I think throwing them out of the window may have been a bit much," Weiss says.

"Hey, they came out of it alright," Yang notes.

"Anyway, Porphyrius said that if I wanted to know what was going on with Khazhak, he said that I should ask him myself, though I shouldn't expect much from him," Ruby says.

"…I wonder what IS going on between Khazhak and this supposed sister of his," Blake thinks, making them all think on it.

 _… A little later, on the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest…_

Khazhak approaches the cliffs from where they began their initiation exam a few months ago. Putting his backpack on the ground, Khazhak opens it and pulls out a few unlit candles, a black tray, and some flowers. He sets the black try down, puts the flowers behind it, and then sets the candles down on the tray. He then pulls out his necklace and places it in between the candles. Placing his right index finger next to one of the candles, he uses a small amount of his semblance to conjure up a spark of lightning, using it to light the candle, and does the same for the rest. After the candles are lit, he remains in a kneeling position on his knees and puts his hands together in a silent prayer of sorts.

"…Happy birthday…Voshkie'ahk…" he mutters.

"Khazhak…" he hears behind him and glances back to see Ruby standing a few feet behind him. "Um, sorry if I'm imposing," she apologizes.

"I knew you were nearby a while ago. Though yes, I would prefer to be alone right now," he says.

"Um, I'm sorry about that. It's just…you never told me you have a sister," she says.

"Because that's personal," Khazhak replies. Ruby, however, doesn't listen, and goes to sit next to Khazhak. "What are you doing?" he asks.

"Khazhak, you can tell me things. I'm your friend. So, you can tell me why you seem to be bothered by the thought of your sister. What happened? Did you guys get into a big fight or something?" she asks.

Khazhak wanted to not tell Ruby anything. He wanted to tell her to just leave him be and not worry about his family and his past…But, when he looks into those innocent and earnest eyes of Ruby, he finds his sense of defiance against her to be swiftly depleted.

Khazhak sighs, "I didn't get into a fight with my sister. I haven't seen her in a long time," he says solemnly.

"What? Why?" Ruby asks, oblivious to the implications of his words.

"Because…My sister is dead. As are my mother and my father. My whole family…has been dead ever since I was twelve," he confesses.

This shocks Ruby, "What?! What happened?" she asks.

"Honestly, I don't feel like talking about that right now. It's not a comfortable subject for me," he says as he stares at his dragon necklace and then brushes his left hand over it. "Voshkie'ahk gave this to me on my twelfth birthday. Modelled after our family emblem, with a blue gemstone to match my namesake. It's all I have left to remember her, and my parents, from my old home," he says.

"But…don't you ever go back to your home where you grew up?" Ruby slowly asks.

"There's nothing left there for me to go back to. My home was with my family, and with them gone, I have no home. There was no reason to stay, and no reason to ever go back. It was just about moving forward after that. My father taught me most of what I know, the rest I learned for myself. Those lessons, those memories were the only things I took from my home," Khazhak says.

"And you travelled throughout Remnant, finding your teammates along the way," Ruby mutters.

"Among other things. Today is my sister's birthday. She would've been sixteen now…if she was still alive," as he stares at his necklace. Feeling bad for him, Ruby gets up and sits behind Khazhak on her knees, and wraps her arms around his abdomen, and closes her eyes. This surprises him a bit as he feels Ruby lean her head on his back. "Ruby, what are you doing?" Khazhak asks, a little out of his element here.

"When I was little…I lost my mom, Summer Rose. She was a huntress. She graduated from Beacon on the same team as my dad and uncle, as well as Yang's mom," Ruby begins, not noticing the subtle narrowing of Khazhak's eyes at the mention of the last person on Summer's team. "She was the main reason why I want to be a huntress. When she was alive, she would read me bedtime stories about heroes saving the day. She went off on missions while our dad taught at Signal Academy. It was hard, but we've managed to get back on track. I visit her grave from time to time back on Patch. I still miss her, but I still have my dad, uncle, and Yang with me. And now, I have Weiss, Blake, and so many friends with me as well. And those friends include you and your team. You may have been alone for some time, but you're not alone now. You have your team, your friends, right there with you from now on. So you don't have to be alone anymore, okay," Ruby comforts him.

For some odd reason, Khazhak feels…comfortable…at peace…in Ruby's arms. He slowly places his right hand on hers.

"Thank you…Ruby…Would you be willing to stay here, just a little while longer?" he tentatively asks.

Ruby smiles and holds him a little closer, "Of course," she replies.

 _…Later that evening, in Team RWBY's…_

The rest of Team RWBY anxiously await for their leader to return, but Yang is starting to get a little tense with how much time Ruby is taking to get back. Weiss is studying, but glances at Yang every minute or so, seeing the tension in Yang starting to rise just a little bit as time goes by.

Weiss sighs, "If you want to go find Ruby, then go. However, she's our leader, and she only went to see if Khazhak is alright. Personally, your tension is starting to make me tense, and that's interfering with my studies," she notes.

"I can't help it. I didn't think it would take her this long. I mean, they only live right next door. What could possibly happen to make her take this long?" Yang wonders.

"If you're worried about Khazhak possibly doing something to Ruby, I highly doubt it. I saw how mad he got when Roman Torchwick attacked her back at the docks last week. And of course, Ruby was able to calm him down before he could attack Weiss. I actually think she's safest when she's with him," Blake notes, but then her thoughts wander to those about Torchwick and the White Fang.

"Um, yes, not my proudest moment. Again, I'm sorry about that," Weiss apologizes to Blake.

"It's alright. We've already moved past that," Blake replies.

Just then, the door opens up and Ruby walks in. Yang quickly jumps off her bed and wraps her arms around Ruby in a back-breaking hug.

"Ruby, finally you're back. I was about to go out there and look for you myself," Yang says.

"Yang…can't…fell my arms, or my spine," Ruby gasps.

Yang frees her sister from her bear-hug, "Oh sorry. Well, what took you so long? What happened with Khazhak?" Yang asks, while Weiss and Blake listen with anticipation.

"Um, well…" Ruby trails off as she begins to tell them what happened.

 _…In Team KEPL's room…_

Khazhak returns to find the rest of his team back in the room.

Lloyd gets up to greet him, "Hey brother. Listen, sorry about what I said earlier. I guess I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry," he apologizes.

Khazhak eventually sighs, "It's fine, Lloyd. It's just…not the best of days for me. Sorry about throwing you out the window. You as well, Reaper," Khazhak says as he looks behind Lloyd, to Reaper.

"Don't worry about it. I'm already over it," Reaper replies.

"So, you feeling better now?" Lloyd asks as Khazhak goes to his bed.

"I'm fine now…Ruby actually visited me," he says.

"What? Don't tell me you threw her off the cliff into the Emerald Forest like you did with me and the window?" Lloyd asks.

"No. We talked, surprisingly, and…she told me she lost her mother when she was a kid. After that, we just basically sat there and said some things about family. It was…soothing, in a way," Khazhak notes.

"Whew, well that's a relief. I was afraid you were going to go psycho on her for a second there," Lloyd says, not noticing Porphyrius and Reaper face-palm.

Outside the dorms, two female students are returning from a late class, talking about school assignments. However, they stop when they hear screaming above them and look up just in time to see Lloyd fall and crash onto the ground in front of them. His semblance isn't active this time, but luckily his aura protected him from the fall…Mostly. The girls look on in shock and slowly step closer to get a better look at Lloyd.

"I really need to keep my big mouth shut sometimes," he groans in pain.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Just a little moment between Khazhak and Ruby as we learn more about Khazhak's past, as well as a little fun at Lloyd's expense. Anyway, what awaits Teams KEPL and RWBY in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	25. Chapter 20: Food Wars

**Here we are at Chapter 20. And so begins Volume 2 of RWBY (along with one of my favorite fight scenes in the show). I couldn't really think of what to do as a filler chapter before this, and with my limited time frame, I just decided to go right into it. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 20. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Food Wars**

 _…In the Beacon Cafeteria, just before the second semester…_

It is around lunch hour as many students of Beacon Academy are in the cafeteria, eating and talking about various things, trying to enjoy themselves before classes start up again the next day. At one table, Team RWBY and Team KEPL are eating their lunches, with Khazhak across from Yang at the end of the table, followed by Reaper across from Blake, Porphyrius across from Weiss, and then Lloyd next to Porphyrius. Right now, Blake is looking in her note book, filled with notes, but these notes are on the White Fang and their activities. Blake looks intensely at the notes until Yang slides over to her left.

"Whatcha doing?" Yang playfully asks.

"Nothing. Just…going over notes from last semester," Blake lies, closing her book as Weiss tries to take a look at it before looking at her.

"Sure you are," Khazhak mutters, drinking some water with his eyes closed before he suddenly moves his head left in order to evade a thrown piece of food coming from behind him, which ends up caught by Yang in her mouth. "You're gonna have to do better than that. Nora," he says without looking back.

"Notes are lame," Yang says while eating the food.

Weiss, Blake, and Lloyd look back to the table behind them to see Team JNPR, with Nora flinging small pieces of food at Khazhak while the other members look on, smiling. Another piece of food gets flung at Khazhak, who easily evades the food without looking back, to which Yang catches the food in her mouth again, and gives Nora a thumbs up. Suddenly, Ruby comes up and places a giant binder filled with papers on the table, making everyone reel back except Khazhak who just looks on with wide eyes. The binder has the words, "Vytal Festival Activities. Property of Weiss Schnee" crossed out with red marker, and below them, in big red letters, is "Best Day Ever Activities!"

"Ahem. Sisters, friends…Weiss," Ruby says.

"Hey!" Weiss retorts.

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream," Ruby begins.

"This outta be good," Yang says to Blake before she catches a berry flung at her in her mouth, once more missing Khazhak.

"What does the little rose have in store for us this time?" Khazhak mutters to Reaper before turning back to Ruby.

"A dream that one day, the four of us would come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had. EVER!" Ruby proclaims.

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss accuses her.

"It has your name on it," Reaper points out.

"I am not a crook," Ruby says, her hands showing peace signs.

Blake raises an eyebrow, "What are you talking about?" she asks.

"I'm talking about kicking off this semester with a bang!" she says, pointing at Blake.

"I always kick my semesters off with a YANG," Yang makes a pun, much to everyone's displeasure as they shake their heads. "Eh, guys, am I right?" she asks.

"That was terrible, Yang," Khazhak says, hearing Nora booing behind him and then moves his head again as Nora throws an apple that hits Yang in the face. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

"Look guys, it's been a good two weeks, and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester's going to be great. But, classes start back up tomorrow, which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today," Ruby says.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss comments as Yang throws an apple back at Team JNPR's table, hearing something break on their side.

"I'm going with the second choice," Porphyrius says.

"I don't know…I think I might sit this one out," Blake tries to back out.

"Sit out or not, I think however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team…" Weiss says as Yang starts waving her hands while having a worried look on her face and saying "no" repeatedly.

Khazhak notices this and quickly moves, "Team, duck!" he quickly says and his team duck their heads.

Weiss stands up, "I for one think-," Weiss begins until a pie is thrown and hits her in the face.

Everyone at their table look back to see Nora in a throwing position before pointing her finger at Ren, who is facepalming, Pyrrha covering her mouth in shock, and Jaune going wide-eyed.

"Oh no…" Khazhak mutters, knowing what's coming next.

Just outside the cafeteria, Sun Wukong is talking with his friend, Neptune Vasilias, as they reach the entrance.

"Okay, they're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them, so be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?" Sun asks.

"Dude…" Neptune comments, striking a pose with his arms crossed, and him showing a nice shiny white smile.

"…Good point," Sun says.

The two then enter the cafeteria, only for Sun to have a big smile and Neptune to have a shocked face, as all of the students start running past them.

"FOOD FIGHT!" some of them shout.

Nora laughs, "I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" She shouts as Team JNPR stand atop some lunch tables stacked on top of each other like a fortress that almost reaches the ceiling.

In front of them, some lunch tables, and food, have been knock to the side or the floor with only a single row of tables with some food on them still standing. On the other side of the cafeteria is Team RWBY while off to one side in the middle is Team KEPL.

Ruby stands one leg on a table, making the food bounce up for a moment, all the while holding a carton of milk.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" she yells, crushing the milk carton while pointing at Team JNPR. "It will be DELICIOUS!" She yells, pumping her fist in the air as her teammates join her, screaming, and ready for battle.

"Off with their heads!" Nora says as she jumps down behind a table with watermelons all over it.

Ren flips over one tray with three watermelons on it, landing on it which makes them jump up before he kicks them towards Team RWBY, Jaune grabs one watermelon on the ground before throwing it at them, Pyrrha throws two watermelons, and Nora tosses up the table, sending all the watermelons on it at them. Meanwhile, Team KEPL look on.

"So, are we getting in on this action?" Lloyd asks.

"Well, I'm leaving. I'm not sticking-," Khazhak begins before a random watermelon crashes into his face and bursts open. His teammates slowly take a step back before he wipes the watermelon pieces off his face, a scowl clear on it. "Team KEPL…We're going to war," he angrily mutters.

"Yang, turkey!" Ruby tells Yang, to which the blonde brawler grabs two turkeys and wears them like boxing gloves, smashing her fist together like with her own weapons.

Yang smashes two watermelons in the air before back-flipping to evade another one. She the starts running forward while simultaneously smashing seven more watermelons at her. Blake then jumps over her, rolling on the ground while grabbing two bread baguettes and starts running with Yang behind her. Using the bread baguettes like her swords, Blake takes out two watermelons and then Yang jumps over her, kicking another watermelon in the air, before landing and launching her turkey gloves like rounds from her shotgun gauntlets. Pyrrha rolls out of the way of the turkey rounds, but Jaune gets hit by one of them before he turns around only to be hit by the second one, knocking him out for the rest of the fight. Pyrrha grabs a long bread baguette and looks up to see Blake dropping down on her. Pyrrha slides back to evade Blake stabbing her with the bread baguettes, and goes to attack Blake with hers. However, just as they were about to clash, Khazhak suddenly shows up, with two long bread baguettes being used as swords, and he clashes his bread baguettes with both of theirs while in between them.

"Khazhak?!" Blake yells.

"The thing about war…There's always a third party," He says while eyeing Blake before turning to Pyrrha. "And it's usually the third party that wins the war," he says.

Khazhak then pushes the both of them back before he attacks Pyrrha first, spinning his body while slashing at her with his bread baguettes, making Pyrrha block the attacks while being pushed back. Blake comes in from behind Khazhak, but Khazhak back kicks her, and then front kicks Pyrrha before performing a downward slash with his left bread baguette and then making a right slash as he spins at Blake from behind him. He then does three more slashes, with Blake blocking the first two and then using her semblance to evade the third. Pyrrha comes back again, and Khazhak rolls backwards to avoid Blake's counterattack and simultaneously pushing off his hands and kicking Pyrrha, who blocks the attack. Blake charges at Khazhak again, but Khazhak blocks her downward slash with his left baguette and then makes an upward slash with his right, which sends Blake into the air. While in the air, Blake throws her right baguette at him while Pyrrha comes at his rear again. Khazhak blocks the thrown baguette before dropping his own and then elbowing Pyrrha in the gut with his right elbow. Everything goes slow motion as Pyrrha releases her baguette before flying back, and then Khazhak, with the same arm, punches three baguettes all at once, sending them flying at Yang as the slow motion ends. Yang punches one, kicks the second, but the third hits her stomach, knocking her to the ground. As Yang hits the ground, Ruby comes in, using a food tray like a snowboard, and slides across the row of table. But as she's moving, she sees French fries flying at her like bullets, and picks up another tray to use as a shield. She looks at her right so see Porphyrius with his signature weapon firing French fries at her.

"Hey! That's no fair!" she complains while evading his attack.

"There's only one rule in war: survive! Not my fault if you get beat!" he retorts as he continues his attack.

Ruby evades the fire for another moment before she jumps in the air and tries to hit Khazhak with her tray. Khazhak counters with a roundhouse kick that knocks her back and then jumps out of the way before Ren and Nora can get at him, forcing them to go after Ruby instead. Ruby jumps back as Weiss comes forth with a ketchup bottle. Using it like her sword, Weiss unleashes a spray of ketchup across the floor in front of her, making Ren slip, fall, and slide across it until he passes them and crashes into some tables with food like a bowling ball. As Ren flies in the air, Nora jumps onto and runs along a table before jumping off of it and grabbing a metal pole on the wall. She breaks it off the wall, and then sticks it into a watermelon as she lands, turning it into a Warhammer like her weapon. She spins and prepares to smash it at Weiss, but Ruby moves in front of her and takes the hit, knocking her back while Weiss rolls to the side and grabs a swordfish with her left hand. Using it like her normal sword, Weis shoots over and stabs it at Nora, making her jump back. Nora quickly recovers and jumps at Weiss, but before they clash, Lloyd shows up, holding six knives in between his knuckles similar to his claws, and stops both of their attacks.

Lloyd laughs almost evilly, "Let's have some fun!" he maniacally says.

Lloyd pushes them back before he swipes his left knives at Weiss and then swings his right at Nora. Weiss begins stabbing her swordfish at Lloyd, who blocks or deflects the attacks. Nora jumps over them, preparing to smash them both, but Weiss and Lloyd notice and jump back, making Nora miss. Nora runs at Weiss and begins spinning her watermelon hammer a few times while Weiss tries to strike her with her sword. However, just before Nora knocks her back, Lloyd grabs the end of her watermelon hammer, and flings her across the cafeteria behind him. Weiss takes this chance to strike at Lloyd, but Lloyd catches the swordfish's blade in between his left knives. He pulls them up, leaving Weiss open for him to perform a powerful front kick, hitting her and causing a shockwave as she gets sent flying back, taking some tables with her, and crashes into a pillar at one end of the cafeteria, knocking her unconscious. As the pillar breaks and begins to fall down along with Weiss, Ruby sees this and jumps up to catch Weiss, landing with her carrying Weiss bridal-style as she remains unconscious.

"Weiss! Weiss! Don't leave me! NOOOOOOOO!" Ruby dramatically cries as the pillar crashes on the ground behind them before Yang runs behind them.

Yang grabs two more turkey boxing gloves, while Ren from the opposite side grabs two leeks. Just as the two are about to clash, Porphyrius shows up and fires off more French fries with his weapon at them. Yang and Ren are forced to take cover behind some tables, but they already fell into the trap. From behind them, Khazhak shows up with two more baguettes as swords and kicks another table at them. Yang and Ren jump over the attack, but then Yang gets pelted by French fries from Porphyrius while Ren tries to defend himself from Khazhak. The two exchange food blades as Khazhak swings his right baguette at him, followed by a low swing with his left. Ren avoids both attacks and then counters with a few swings from his leeks. However, at one point, Khazhak catches one of his leeks with his mouth, pulling it out of Ren's grip and spitting it out. Khazhak then goes in for the kill by swinging his baguettes wildly, knocking Ren's remaining leek out of his hands. Khazhak then makes a few successful hits with his baguettes before spin kicking Ren right into the table castle that Nora made, causing it to collapse. Meanwhile, Yang runs behind a few more tables to avoid Porphyrius' assault, and then smashes her turkey fists into the ground to send the tables bouncing up into the air. She then punches each of them at Porphyrius, forcing him to jump back and make a temporary retreat.

Yang then jumps back when Nora smashes her watermelon hammer at her. Yang and Nora charge at each other, with Yang throwing a right fist while Nora swings her hammer upwards. Nora's hammer smashes Yang first, breaking it and sending Yang flying THROUGH the ceiling, making a huge hole in it. Blake backflips to avoid the falling debris before she grabs a line of hotdogs connected together and uses it as a whip. Spinning the hotdog whip a few times, she swings it at Nora, hitting her and sending her colliding into a soda machine behind her, causing soda cans to poor out of the broken machine. Nora rolls on the ground while grabbing two and throws one of them at Blake like a grenade. Blake jumps back as it explodes in a purple explosion and does a few backflips. Nora throws more soda grenades at her, to which Blake evades. However, when Nora throws another soda grenade, it gets knock away in mid-air by another string of hotdogs. Blake and Nora look to see none other than Reaper with two long strings of hotdogs tied around his body and arms, two long strands getting dragged behind him. Reaper just chuckles before he flings the two strands at Blake and Nora, who fail to avoid the strands as they wrap around them like rope.

"Now then, dance. Dance to the waltz that I am playing!" Reaper yells as he begins spinning his body and the strands, forcing Blake and Nora to get pulled along for the ride.

Reaper begins sending them into the walls, onto the floors, and into various tables and other debris as he continues to swing them around, gaining momentum and control of his swings. Eventually, he pulls the two strands in opposite directions, which causes Blake and Nora to come crashing into each other. Reaper then reveres his motion, pulling the strands away, which sends them flying in opposite directions, Nora into some tables, and Blake into a wall at the end of the cafeteria, knocking her out. Pyrrha then starts to get up as she sees the soda cans spilled around her. Using her semblance of polarity, she controls the cans and sends them flying in a massive swarm at Reaper. But, just as Reaper was about to get hit, Lloyd jumps in front of him, activating his steel skin semblance, and acts like a shield for him. However, Pyrrha moves some cans around Lloyd's left side, and they continue to close in on Reaper. Suddenly, Khazhak jumps in and uses his lightning semblance, shooting lightning bolts at the cans, which makes them fall onto the ground.

Ruby then gets back up with a serious expression on her face. She takes a sprinter's position before activating her semblance, and zooming over through the cafeteria towards Teams KEPL and JNPR. The immense speed of her sprint causes any debris around her to be pulled along with her. Khazhak sees this and thinks quickly.

"Team, KEPL, fall back!" He orders, and they take cover behind some tables on the side of the cafeteria, away from Ruby's reach.

As the members of Team JNPR regain their bearings, Ruby starts spinning, masking her cloak wrap around her like a red cyclone, making the debris being pulled spin with her. As she zips by Jaune and Ren, they get caught in the pull with the debris, and then Nora and Pyrrha get caught along with them. As Ruby nears the other side of the cafeteria, Ruby flips and slides on the floor, stopping just before the wall, which causes the wall to get damaged and cracked from the force of her move. The members of Team JNPR crash into the wall, and the torrent of food gets closer to them. But, just before Ruby is about to jump up to avoid the attack, Khazhak appears behind her.

"Hey, little rose," he says before grabbing her arms, preventing her escape.

"Khazhak?! What are you-," begins but then looks back at the debris coming towards her. "No, wait! No, no, no, no, NO!" she screams.

"RUBY BARRIER!" Khazhak playfully yells as he uses Ruby's body as a shield.

The torrent of food comes at them. Some debris hits Ruby, coating her in different colors from the different foods, while the rest hit Team JNPR and the wall behind Khazhak. The rest of Team KEPL look on at the sight as Ruby and Team JNPR get bombarded with food, while Khazhak remains untouched.

"The horror of it all," Lloyd playfully says, laughing at the sight.

After the onslaught ends, Khazhak drops Ruby, who has her entire front side COVERED in food. Team JNPR soon peel off the wall behind them, leaving their body outlines in the food painted wall as they fall to the ground.

"No fair," Ruby pouts at Khazhak.

"All's fair in love and war', as the saying goes, little rose," Khazhak says, wiping his hands and shoulders of any food debris. "And with that, the winner of this war is Team KEPL," he proclaims.

Meanwhile, Sun looks on with a smile on his face, "I love these guys," he says, looking at Neptune…who is covered from head to toe in grape soda and has a scowl on his face.

Suddenly, the doors behind them are slammed open and Glynda Goodwitch walks in, looking livid. She the uses her semblance to clean up the whole cafeteria, making it practically spotless.

"Children, PLEASE. Do not play with your food," she practically orders as she adjusts her glasses.

The members of Teams RWBY and JNPR walk up, covered in food, while Team KEPL walk by them with practically no food anywhere on their bodies. Nora makes a loud burp, and then Yang finally falls back down through the ceiling, hitting the ground hard when she lands by her teammates. Goodwitch growls a little more, but then Professor Ozpin shows up, and puts a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Let it go," he says.

Goodwitch sighs, "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world," she replies as they look at the members of Team RWBY laughing at each other from all the food they have on them.

"And they will be, but right now they're still children. So why not let them play the part?" Ozpin says and then begins to walk away as Glynda watches him leave. "After all…It isn't a role they'll have forever. Isn't that right, Mr. Rairyu?" Ozpin asks, turning to Khazhak.

Khazhak looks between him and Team RWBY for a moment.

"…He's right, Professor Goodwitch. As future huntsmen and huntresses, tough trials and dark challenges await them. They won't be able to laugh or smile like this in the future because of that. So I say, let them have this time to laugh and smile like this for now…Heh, I envy them in that aspect," Khazhak explains.

"How so?" Goodwitch asks, getting curious.

Khazhak looks down solemnly, "My teammates and I were forced to grow up faster than other kids our age. We can no longer laugh and smile like them. They still have that light in them, but we lost our lights long ago," Khazhak says.

"I…I see your point, I guess," Goodwitch replies. _"I forgot about what Ozpin said about them.. NO child should have to go through that at their ages when it happened, even if they wanted to become future huntsmen. I guess I can see the nobility in Ozpin's words."_

 _…Later that night, in Team KEPL's room…_

Team KEPL are back in their dorm room, with Lloyd playing on his scroll on his bed, Porphyrius reading a book, Reaper drinking some water through a hole in his mask, and Khazhak looking out their window with his arms crossed, deep in thought. After a moment, Khazhak turns to his teammates.

"Team KEPL, listen up," he gets their attention. "While we haven't seen much action since the night at the docks last semester, we can't let our guard down. Whoever is behind these chain of events is plotting something, and it's going to be big," he says.

"So, what do you want us to do, Khazhak?" Reaper asks.

Khazhak thinks for a moment, "We don't know who they are, or what they are planning. So all I can say for now is that we have to be vigilant…and we have to be ready," he says. _"Or else who knows how many innocent people may die from this."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. That food fight was the best ever in my opinion. It was awesome! A new semester brings new challenges for our two teams. Will they be ready for them? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	26. Chapter 21: Strength or Weakness

**Here we are at chapter 21. Since the members of Team KEPL haven't had as much interaction with Team JNPR, I'll be doing this one for Khazhak and Pyrrha. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 21. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Strength or Weakness**

 _…A week since the food fight incident…_

Ever since the food fight incident, the three teams of RWBY, KEPL, and JNPR have had to be careful with when in the cafeteria, since Glynda would always be there watching them, and ONLY them until they would leave. This made things a little uncomfortable for them, though the members of Team KEPL weren't that bothered by it. More like annoyed. However, after a week has passed, Professor Ozpin had managed to convince Goodwitch to cut them some slack and free them from her watch, at least until the next time they end up doing something they shouldn't be doing. However, that isn't the only issue they've had to deal with. Recently, the teams have been noticing that Blake has been avoiding them lately, and not socializing with them a whole lot, which is really saying something considering it's Blake. While the rest of Team RWBY are worried about her, the members of Team KEPL, mainly Khazhak and Porphyrius, are more or less irritated by her recent behavior. However, they decide to focus on other matters for the time being.

 _…With Khazhak in the library…_

For now, Khazhak is going through one of the sections in the school library, looking for something interesting to read to pass the time. He eventually finds one novel on the history of blades and blade techniques. Thinking that this book could be useful to him, Khazhak takes the book of the shelf and finds a lone table to sit and quietly read through the novel.

 _"Hm, let's see…Rapier techniques. Weiss' preferred style, not mine…Scimitar…maybe…Zweihander, I can probably use that with my swords' buster form…Katana…cutlass…At least this book has some use for me…"_ he thinks as he continues reading through the book.

"Hello again, Khazhak," he hears behind him, already knowing who it is.

"Pyrrha," he greets her without looking back.

"So what are you doing here? Studying for a class?" she asks as she walks around to stand near him. "May I sit?" she asks.

"Be my guest," he replies.

Pyrrha takes the seat across from Khazhak, "Things have been getting a little busy lately. With classes, exchange students coming to Beacon, and the Vytal Festival coming up," she notes as she takes out a book of her own.

Khazhak just grunts, "…So, how's Jauney-boy's training coming along. He still getting sand kicked in his face?' he asks.

"He…still has a ways to go, but he's making a lot of progress. He'll become a professional huntsman in no time," Pyrrha replies. Khazhak glances at her for a moment and then closes his book, stands up and puts it away. "Khazhak, are you done reading? Where are you going?" she asks.

"To the training room…And you're coming with me," he says and begins to walk away before stopping and glancing back at her. "And bring your weapon. I'll be waiting for you there," he says and leaves.

Pyrrha just looks on in confusion, but eventually leaves to retrieve her weapon. What she doesn't know is that four boys were watching from the sidelines, all having smug looks on their faces. A few minutes later, Pyrrha enters the training room to find it empty, except for Khazhak who stands in the middle of the sparring arena, swords on his hips and his arms crossed.

"Took you long enough," Khazhak says as Pyrrha approaches him.

"Khazhak, what's going on?" Pyrrha hesitantly asks.

"…This…" he vaguely says before activating his right sword, still on his hip, and pulling the trigger.

The recoil shoots the blade at Pyrrha, who reacts fast enough to use her semblance to stop it in mid-air. However, Khazhak shoots over to grab it while pulling out his left sword and swings it at Pyrrha. Pyrrha jumps back and takes out her sword and shield to fight back. Khazhak swings his right sword at her, which gets blocked by her shield, before he swings with his left, which she parries with her sword. This routine continues for a few more attacks before Khazhak spins around and does a spinning hook kick that Pyrrha ducks under, only to get punched back while she was open in her abdomen. She slides across the floor before regaining herself.

"Khazhak, what is this about?!" she yells, surprised by his attack.

However, Khazhak makes no response and runs at her while firing off a few shots from his swords, Pyrrha blocks them with her shield and then jumps over a swing from Khazhak's right sword. After landing, Pyrrha transforms her sword into its rifle form and fires off some shots, but Khazhak deflects them with his swords before charging at her again. Pyrrha changes her weapon back into its sword form and spins around to swing her sword at him, who responds in kind with a downward swing from his right sword. Khazhak thrusts his left blade at her, but Pyrrha deflects it with her shield and goes for his exposed left flank. However, Khazhak fires his right sword from under his left arm, forcing her to block the shot with her shield, and allowing Khazhak to swing his left sword at her. Pyrrha rolls under the strike and then jumps up to thrust her right sword at his skull. Khazhak blocks the strike with his right sword, pushes it aside, and then swings his left sword downward at her. Pyrrha jumps back to dodge the strike, making Khazhak slam the sword into the ground, leaving cracks.

"Khazhak, why are you doing this?! If it's something I did, then I'm sorry!" Pyrrha tries to reason with him.

"…Initiation…" Khazhak responds.

"Huh?" Pyrrha mutters confused. _"Why would he bring up the initiation? Did I do something during the exam that he didn't approve of? But we didn't interact much during the exam. We were actually together longer before then back at the…locker room,"_ Pyrrha wonders as she starts to put the pieces together, and then notices that Khazhak has not once tried to attack her while she was thinking, keeping a calm stance with his swords hanging by his sides. _"I remember now…He said he wanted to spar with me. To see if I could be a worthy opponent. He said that he seeks strong opponents to test himself, to become stronger…"_ she thinks as she stares into Khazhak's eyes, and then gets a determined look in her own. "I'm sorry Khazhak. I didn't understand it earlier. But I understand now. I'll show you how strong I am. I'll give you the fight you've been searching for," Pyrrha declares as she readies her weapons.

Khazhak shows a small smirk as he takes a combat stance as well, "Again, took you long enough," he says.

With renewed vigor, the two warriors charge at each other. Khazhak jumps up and slams his right sword down on Pyrrha, who dodges the attack, causing Khazhak to smash his sword into a ground, destroying it. Pyrrha swings her sword at him, but he ducks under the strike and then counters with a wide swing of his left blade. Pyrrha jumps and spins over the strike, and then flips over a second swing from his right sword. When she lands, Pyrrha swings her shield at Khazhak's face, but he uses his momentum to swing his left sword to blocks the attack. Pyrrha then jumps back to holster her shield while changing her sword into its spear form. She runs at Khazhak and twirls her spear around before swinging it at him. Khazhak parries the attack and goes for a swing of his right sword, but Pyrrha spins around to use her shield to block the strike before retaliating with a swing of her spear. Khazhak jumps back to avoid it, and then fires off his guns at Pyrrha. Pyrrha spins her spear to block a few rounds, and then pulls out her shield to block the rest while changing her spear back into its sword form. The two then rush at each other again, and Khazhak goes for a low swing while sliding on the ground. Pyrrha flips over the strike while attacking Khazhak with her weapon, but he parries the strike again. The two turn around and Khazhak clashes his right blade with Pyrrha's.

"Good…You may very well be the one that can give me a good fight. Truth be told, while my teammates are no pushovers, I know everything about them, so there's no way for them to surprise me. However, fighting a new opponent does give this fight more of an edge. I can see why they called you the 'invincible girl, back in Mistral," Khazhak notes

"I'll take that as a compliment. You are definitely skilled yourself. Perhaps the most skilled opponent I've ever faced in my life," Pyrrha replies.

"Then I'd better not disappoint," Khazhak notes.

He then swings his left sword down on Pyrrha's blade, and begins to push her back. Seeing that she can't beat Khazhak in a clash of strength, Pyrrha activates her semblance to force Khazhak's blades to slide away and downward to the ground away from her. Pyrrha jumps over Khazhak and goes for a swing at his arms, but Khazhak releases his swords to evade the strike. He then grabs Pyrrha's right arm and pulls her around to throw her away from him while he retrieves his swords.

" _I almost forgot. Her polarity semblance is very useful against anything made of metal. Then I guess I better even the odds,"_ Khazhak notes as he charges up his semblance. Pyrrha notices and quickly gets ready for it. A moment later… "LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" Khazhak yells as he swings his swords, sending out a swarm of lightning bolts at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha rolls, jumps, and twists around each lightning bolt, only to find Khazhak right in front of her as he swings his right sword at her. She jumps over the strike, but can't react fast enough to avoid the second swing, and gets nailed to the ground away from Khazhak. Pyrrha quickly rolls back onto her feet, only to see Khazhak fuse his swords into their dual spear form. Spinning his weapon around, Khazhak runs at Pyrrha again, twirling his weapon when he gets close. Pyrrha changes her sword into its rifle form, firing off a few shots that get deflected by Khazhak's weapon. Changing her weapon back into its spear form, Pyrrha exchanges a few blows with Khazhak as they go into a dance of steel. Each strike collides with another, until Khazhak does something crazy and grabs the blade of Pyrrha's spear with his left hand. With his aura protecting him, Khazhak holds onto the blade and swings his dual spear down on Pyrrha, who blocks with her shield. However, Khazhak head-butts her in the face, knocking her away. He goes for a swing, but Pyrrha uses her semblance to force the weapon to miss, giving her a chance to kick Khazhak in the back. Regaining himself, Khazhak turns around to face Pyrrha again.

"Well now, I guess it's time to bring out the big guns," Khazhak notes as he changes his weapon's form into its greatsword form.

"Speaking of big guns," the two fighter hear and look off to the side entrance to see the four members of Team CRDL approaching them, the one talking being Cardin.

"This isn't the place for a bunch of little insects, so beat it," Khazhak warns them as he faces Pyrrha again.

"Oh no, that's not how this works. You two have embarrassed and humiliated us time and time again. But now that you've worn each other out with your little fight, you'll be too tired to beat the four of us," Cardin says as he and his teammates take out their weapons.

"Attacking when our strength has weakened. You really are a bunch of cowards," Pyrrha notes.

"Who cares how you do it, as long as you win," Sky Lark retorts.

Khazhak growls and narrows his eyes, "I guess they still haven't learned their lesson, even after the beating my teammates and I gave them. Pyrrha, let's put our battle on hold and take care of these pests. I'll help out," Khazhak says as he readies his blade.

"Agreed. We'll finish our duel another time," Pyrrha says.

Cardin and Dove Bronzewing attack Khazhak while Sky Lark and Russel Thrush charge at Pyrrha. Cardin jumps and swings his mace down on Khazhak, but Khazhak, with one hand, swings his greatsword at swats him away before using his left gauntlet to block a sword strike from Dove. He then kicks Dove away and, wielding his sword with both hands, rushes at him and swings his sword in an upward arc, sending Dove flying. With Pyrrha, Sky comes in and twirls his halberd around before swinging it downward at her, but her jumps and spins around the strike to kick him in the face. Russel comes in from behind Sky and thrusts his daggers at Pyrrha a few times. Pyrrha bobs her head around each attack, and spins her shield around to knock his daggers away from her before dealing a few sword blows on him, followed by a backflip kick that knocks him back.

Back with Khazhak, he uses his greatsword like a shield to cover himself as Dove fires off a few shots at him. Cardin runs at his left flank, but Khazhak already noticed. When Cardin comes in close and swings his mace at Khazhak's side, Khazhak ducks and sweeps his leg around to knock Cardin off his feet, and then roundhouse kicks him away. Khazhak then runs at Dove, who responds in kind. When they get close, Dove clashes his sword with Khazhak's but then Khazhak redirects it towards the ground, stomping his left foot on it to keep it there. He swings his sword, hitting Dove, and then forcing his weapon out of his hand. Khazhak then makes a few more successful swings before he grabs Dove's skull, picks him up and slams his head hard into the ground, knocking him out cold. Looking up, he sees Cardin smash his mace into the ground, sending a plume of explosions at him. Khazhak easily rolls out of the way and runs at him. Cardin raises his mace up for a strike, but when he swings it down on Khazhak, Khazhak catches it in the space between the individual blades of his greatsword. Khazhak pulls the trigger, and in slow motion, the shot sends Cardin's mace upwards, while Khazhak aims his sword at Cardin's chest. In normal motion, Khazhak fires at point blank range, sending Cardin flying back. Khazhak rushes at him and swings his sword at him again faster than he can react, and sends him crashing into a wall. Just as Cardin is getting up, Khazhak punches him in the face with his left hand, smashing Cardin's skull into the wall. Khazhak calmly steps back as Cardin falls onto the ground, unconscious.

Khazhak grunts in mild disgust, "Hmph…Insect," he mutters.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha jumps up and throws her shield, hitting Sky in the face while Russel manages to duck under it. Retrieving her shield, Pyrrha runs at them, swinging her sword at Russel as she moves past him to go for Sky. Recovering, Sky spins his halberd around before he makes another attack while Russel comes at Pyrrha's rear. Pyrrha spins around, using her shield to block Sky's strike and deflect Russel's sneak attack, and then parries a few sword strikes with Russel. Noticing Sky coming back at her. Pyrrha backflips over him, causing him to run into Russel. Seeing her opportunity, Pyrrha goes in and deals a few clear hits on Sky before performing a roundhouse kick to send kick spinning in the air and landing on the ground, knocked out. Russel goes for some payback, but Pyrrha spins her sword around her neck as it changes into its spear form. Swinging it in a wide arc, Pyrrha deflects Russel's counterattack, and then thrusts her spear at his face. While Russel was just barely able to dodge it, he couldn't dodge the low swing at his legs, making him lose his footing, before Pyrrha swings her spear upwards, sending him into the air. Pyrrha jumps up and performs a front flip kick that knocks Russel into the ground, and then lands on his back in style. She jumps off him and readies to continue, only to see that her fight is now over.

Pyrrha breathes a sigh of relief, "I guess that's that," she says as she looks back to see Khazhak approach her. "Do you still wish to continue our duel?" she asks.

Khazhak crosses his arms, "…No. I've lost interest. We'll finish this another time," he says and turns to leave.

"When exactly?" Pyrrha asks.

Khazhak stops, but doesn't look back at her, "The Vytal Festival Tournament is approaching soon. We'll settle our duel there. I'll be waiting for you…You're a skilled warrior, Pyrrha Nikos, but you won't ever beat me," Khazhak notes.

"And what makes you say that?" Pyrrha asks, a little taken back by the comment.

Khazhak glances back at her, "…Because you're too soft. That won't do against an opponent, or against the Grimm. I do not possess this issue, and therefore, I will have no trouble beating you, and everyone else in the tournament. Your kindness may be a strength in some aspects, Pyrrha, but it is also a weakness in many others. That weakness may one day be your undoing," Khazhak explains as he gets ready to leave the training room.

"Khazhak…You may see my kindness as a weakness, but I see it as a strength. It's what separates us from people like Cardin, or from the creatures of Grimm," Pyrrha retorts.

"Hmph. If you say so," Khazhak notes.

"And what about Ruby?" Pyrrha asks, making Khazhak stop in his tracks. "Is her kind heart a weakness as well?" Pyrrha asks.

Khazhak just stands there for a moment, but then leaves for good without giving her an answer.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A little bout between Khazhak and Pyrrha, in more ways than one. I may do some other chapters in the future where the members of Team KEPL bond with Team JNPR. Will Khazhak prove his words to be true, or will Pyrrha prove him wrong? What awaits Khazhak in the future? Until then, please Read and Review. Tell me what you think please.**


	27. Chapter 22: Burning Iron

**Here we are at Chapter 22. Time for a special confrontation with Khazhak and someone I really don't like, as well as learning a few other things. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 22. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Burning Iron**

 _…A few days since Khazhak's duel with Pyrrha…_

Since Khazhak's duel with Pyrrha, things have once more calmed down around Beacon, especially since Cardin and Dove had to be taken to the school infirmary after Khazhak had fractured their skulls, and that was with their aura still active. Khazhak has chewed out by Goodwitch, but in all honesty, he really didn't care. The same could be said by most of the student body, who silently thanked Khazhak for sending one half of Team CRDL to the infirmary.

 _…In Team KEPL's room…_

"So, I've been getting a lot of requests from other students, saying to thank you for taking down Cardin Winchester again. Seems like you've been getting real popular around here, brother," Lloyd notes as he lays on his bed, hands behind his head.

"Makes no difference to me. I just squashed some bugs that were annoying me. I'm only pissed that they interrupted my duel with Pyrrha. I was starting to get a little into it, actually," Khazhak notes as he polishes one of his swords.

"You think she can actually be something like your equal?" Porphyrius asks.

"Hell no. She's good, but she has a few weaknesses. I'm already become pretty familiar with how she fights. She holds back the true extent of her semblance, just like I do. However, it's her personality that keeps her from reaching my level. She's too nice, and nice won't save you on the battlefield," Khazhak replies.

"Well, I suppose you have a-," Reaper begins until they hear some sounds outside. "What was that?" he asks.

Khazhak cracks open the curtains, and quickly narrows his eyes.

"Brother, what is it?" Lloyd asks.

Khazhak closes the curtains, "We're going outside," he says.

…

The four teammates go outside, and are quickly not liking what they're seeing. Atlas military airships flying all around, while three larger cruisers land at the landing docks at the edge of the school.

"What the Hell is the Atlas military doing here?!" Lloyd yells, already livid at seeing the one thing he hates the most.

"Nothing good, I'm sure. Team KEPL, return to the dorm room, and await my call. Lloyd, do not attack any Atlas personal until I find out what is going on," Khazhak says as he turns to leave.

Lloyd groans at the order, but complies without question.

"Where are you going, Khazhak?" Reaper asks.

"To find out what's going on," Khazhak replies.

 _…In Ozpin's office…_

Currently in Professor Ozpin's office, the headmaster is talking with an old friend and the headmaster of Atlas Academy, as well as the general of the Atlas military, General James Ironwood. Ironwood is wearing a white overcoat, with a gray undercoat, black sweater, a red tie, white pants, gray boots, and a white glove on his right hand. His hair is black, with some areas being silver, while his eyebrows are black. He has what appears to be a strip of silver metal above his right eyebrow.

"…I'm just being cautious," Ironwood defends his action of bringing his troops to Vale.

"As am I. Which is why we will continue to train the best huntsmen and huntresses we can," Ozpin replies.

"Believe me, I am," Ironwood says before he turns to walk away. However, he turns back around to look at Ozpin. "But ask yourself this, do you honestly believe your CHILDREN can win a war?" Ironwood asks seriously before turning to walk away.

"I hope they never have to," Ozpin mutters.

However, just before Ironwood makes it to the door to leave the room, the same door gets KICKED clear off its hinges and it falls in front of the surprised general. Both men look up to see none other than Khazhak Rairyu at the door, and with a VERY unpleasant look on his face.

"This must be why my nose was burning. I thought it was from the engine exhausts from all the ships flying around, but it turns out it was just your B.O…Ironwood," Khazhak says, saying his name with disgust etched into his voice.

"And WHO are you?" Ironwood ask, regaining his composure. "Ozpin, don't tell me you allow your students to break down doors instead of knocking on them before entering a room?" he asks.

Ozpin ignores the question, "He is Khazhak Rairyu, a first-year student here, and the leader of the first-year team, Team KEPL. And what might have brought you here to my office today, Khazhak?" Ozpin asks, remaining calm in this situation.

"Just trying to make sure that we aren't being invaded by the Atlas military and that I have to kill their commanding officer," Khazhak sarcastically replies, though he's still able to give a death glare to Ironwood while doing so.

"Don't worry Khazhak. We are not being invaded," Ozpin replies, a slight smirk on his face as he is getting used to Khazhak's personality and antics.

"Now what could possibly make you think that? I only came here with my troops to help with the Vytal Festival," Ironwood asks before regaining his composure and extending a hand to Khazhak. "Perhaps we should try to start over-," Ironwood begins before Khazhak smacks his hand away. "…Or you could continue to be hostile. Though I must advise that you should not speak against your superiors in such a way," Ironwood said.

"SUPERIORS?!" Khazhak yells before he lowers his voice. "No way in Hell would I ever consider someone like YOU to be MY superior. Not after what you and your military have done in the past," Khazhak says, anger clear in his voice.

Ozpin then grows more serious, "What do you mean by that, Khazhak? It seems you and the general here have some history together. Care to explain, general?" Ozpin asks them.

"This is the first time I have met Khazhak," Ironwood says before turning to Khazhak. "I'm afraid you may have me confused for someone else, Khazhak."

"We have never met before, Ironwood, but you can't lie about what you did," Khazhak explains, confusing the two adults.

"And what would that be?" Ironwood asks.

"Does the name 'Lloyd Jyousai' mean anything to you?" Khazhak asks.

"Should it?" Ironwood retorts, getting impatient.

"Of course not, how about another name that you should know. Subject 86 of your super soldier program," Khazhak says, narrowing his eyes at Ironwood.

Ironwood goes wide-eyed, "Where did you hear about that? That is top secret information!" Ironwood asks, surprised.

"What is he talking about general?" Ozpin inquires, getting suspicious.

Before Ironwood could defend himself, Khazhak beats him to the punch.

"10 years ago, the Atlas military started a new program to create and train super-soldiers to combat the Grimm threat. They would put the trainees, whom they saw as nothing more than numbers and tools, through rigorous amounts of training, experimentation, and conditioning to make them living weapons. What they tried to keep secret, out of all of that though, was the fact that the 'trainees' of the program were little children that they took out of the foster care system or from the streets to do it. Without their consent. They lost their freedom, and then they would lose their humanity, and some of them, their very SOULS," Khazhak explains as he begins to walk past Ironwood and up to Ozpin. "A while back, I found out through various sources about the program and decided to go and shut the program down. For good," Khazhak says, turning back to Ironwood, whose face shows a mix of shock and anger.

"Is this true, General?" Ozpin asks, somewhat accusingly.

"The program…once existed. However, the volunteers were supposed to be from the military. However, they were not supposed to take children. When I found out, I had the program shut down, except there were those in the program that didn't accept this. They went into hiding, and apparently, continued their experiments. Once I found out, I left to apprehend them," Ironwood tries to defend himself.

"Yeah, fat lot of good you did. I went there myself and killed the scientists, and destroyed the facility long before you even came close to showing up, Unfortunately, the data on their subjects got destroyed in the melee, which complicated one matter I wanted to solve," Khazhak says, crossing his arms, once more shocking Ironwood.

"I found that facility in a smoking ruin. YOU were the one who did all that, and killed the scientists?! I should arrest you right now!" Ironwood yells.

"You don't have jurisdiction here, Ironwood, and even if you did, then the whole world will know about the program. While I may have no proof, with how many people despise those from Atlas, I'm sure the whole world would love to see the Atlas military's dirty laundry. Even without the evidence, it would still ruin your kingdom," Khazhak notes.

"I should have you arrested for such a threat. You will do no such thing, you understand me?" Ironwood orders Khazhak.

"I don't take orders from you Ironwood. Even if Professor Ozpin told me to, I still wouldn't do it. I'm only going to warn you once, Ironwood. You do anything to endanger my comrades, Vale, or Beacon Academy, and I will have this information leaked to every news corporation across Remnant, so that the whole planet can see what the Atlas military is willing to do to the very people they are supposed to protect, just to kill some Grimm," Khazhak warns him, narrowing his eyes.

Ironwood growls," You would blackmail me?!" he angrily asks.

"No, not blackmail. Just business. As long as you remain a trusting ally to Ozpin, and do not attempt to harm my comrades, then you get to keep your name clean," Khazhak explains before he begins to walk away.

Ironwood was about to stop him, but Ozpin stops him, "Let him go general. I'd advise you to adhere to his request. But, Khazhak," Ozpin calls to his student, making Khazhak turn back to him. "Earlier, you mentioned your teammate, Lloyd Jyousai. How does he fit into all this?" he asks.

"…Lloyd was Subject 86 in the program when I shut it down. After that, I found him not too far from the facility and asked him to join me on my journey. He didn't remember his old name because of the program, and I couldn't find any records of it, so I gave him the name 'Lloyd Jyousai', and ever since then, he has acted as my sworn brother and helped me with my quest," Khazhak explains before leaving the room.

The new information leaves Ozpin and Ironwood silent for a moment before Ozpin looks at Ironwood.

"Well, I would ask you about this program, but it looks like I got all I needed," Ozpin says.

"Ozpin, I knew about the program, but I didn't know the extent of the training, nor about how they acquired the trainees. They were only doing what they believed was best for the kingdoms in the fight against the Grimm, even if they were wrong in their methods," Ironwood defends himself.

"Even if that were true, it appears Khazhak doesn't care. I suggest you take some time to think about how you will make amends with him, and with his teammate. It seems there are many here that do not trust you here. And that could pose problems for all of us in the future," Ozpin tells him before Ironwood takes his leave. _"It seems Team KEPL has been through harder trials then I previously thought. I only hope they don't lose their chance to regain some of their light, before it's too late."_

 _…Later that day, in the school library…_

"So, Ironwood brought his troops basically to act as extra security for the Vytal Festival. Seems a bit extreme, even or an event such as this," Reaper notes as Team KEPL walk through the library.

Lloyd growls, "To think that Ironfart would actually be hear of all places. And here I thought I didn't have to worry about the Atlas military anymore," he says.

"Calm down, Lloyd. We'll just have to do what we always do: deal with it. As long as they stay out of our way, we'll stay out of their way. Unless they do something that will force our hand. That I can expect from Ironwood," Khazhak says.

"So, what do we do now?" Porphyrius asks.

"We go about our day and hope that nothing serious happens like last semester back at the docks," Khazhak notes.

"Yeah, so you think that was the end of it, brother?" Lloyd asks.

"The White Fang working with Roman Torchwick. No way in Hell that the docks were the end of it. There's something else going on around here, and I think we need to find out what," Khazhak says.

"NNNOOOOO, my fearless soldiers!" they hear what sounded like a girl screamed.

Curious, they walk over and eventually find the members of Team RWBY, playing a board game at one table, while the members of Team JNPR are sitting at a table behind them, reading. They also see Ruby laying her head on the table, waterfall tears in defeat.

"Nooooo!" Ruby cries.

"Um, did we miss something?" Lloyd asks as they approach the two teams.

"Oh, hey guys, you just missed me take out Ruby's forces in one fell swoop," Yang replies as she wipes her hands in victory and then turns to Weiss as the members of Team KEPL stand around the table. "Well Weiss, it's your turn," Yang says, turning to Weiss.

"I have…absolutely no idea what's going on," she confesses, still confused at the game, making Khazhak facepalm.

Yang slides over, wrapping her left arm around Weiss, shoulders, "Look, it's easy. You're playing as Vacuo, which means all Vacuo based cards come with a bonus," Yang explains.

"That sounds dumb," Weiss replies.

Yang starts sorting through Weiss' cards, "See, you've got Sandstorm, Desert Scavenge, Oh, Oh! Resourceful Raider! See, now you can take Ruby's discard air fleet," Yang begins, making Ruby cry even more. "And put it in YOUR hand," Yang says.

"Okay," Weiss says, starting to understand.

"And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance boost against natural hazards, you can use Sandstorm to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom. Just know, that I will not forget this declaration of war," Yang warns her before sliding back.

"And that means?" Weiss asks.

"You're just three moves away from conquering Remnant," Ruby says before crying a waterfall again.

Hearing this, Weiss starts laughing evilly and stands up while thunder and lightning can be heard, "Yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces. Cower as they pillage your homes and weep as they take your children from your very arms-," Weiss says, sounding villainous for a moment.

"Trap card," Yang deadpans, showing Weiss a card.

"Huh?" Weiss goes jawstruck.

Yang then moves pieces around, taking away Weiss' game pieces, "Your armies have been destroyed," Yang calmly says as she defeats Weiss.

Weiss immediately starts crying like Ruby, "I hate this game of emotions we play!" she wales as she sits down.

Ruby then jumps on her lap and wraps her arms around her, "Stay strong Weiss, we'll make it through this together!" she cries.

"Shut up! Don't touch me!" Weiss replies, but wraps her arms around Ruby in a hug anyway as they both continue to cry in defeat.

"Yellow, 2. Red and White, 0, heh-heh-heh-heh-heh," Lloyd mutters while chuckling at the scene.

Yang rests her hands behind her head before turning to Blake, "Alright, Blake, you're up," she says.

"Huh? Oh, um, sorry, what am I doing?" she ask, since she wasn't paying attention at all to them.

"You could at least do a better job at looking like you wanna play," Khazhak mutters.

"You're playing as Vale, trying to conquer the kingdoms of Remnant," Yang explains as Weiss and Ruby stop crying, having smiles on their faces again.

"Right…" Blake says, looks at her cards.

"Hey, can I play?" Jaune asks as he walks to their table.

"No," Team KEPL all say in unison.

"Sorry, Jaune, we've already got four people," Ruby says.

"Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt you possess," Weiss says.

"Uh, you attacked your own naval fleet two turns ago," Yang mentions, making Weiss groan at her, and Porphyrius and Reaper chuckle at her expense.

"Bring it on, Ice Queen. I'll have you know that I've been told I'm a natural born leader," Jaune remains confident.

"By who? Your mother?" Weiss and Khazhak say at the same time, and give each other a low high-five.

"A-and Pyrrha," Jaune retorts.

"Hello again," Pyrrha politely greets them from her table.

"Come on, let me play your hand for a turn," Jaune pleads with Weiss.

"I'm not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo," Weiss rejects his pleas.

"Why not? You've trusted me with WAY more important stuff before," Jaune begins.

 _"Oh crap! Shut up Jaune!"_ Khazhak mentally yells.

"I mean you told us all that Blake is secretly a Fa-" Jaune begins to spill the secret, but Pyrrha quickly jumps out of her seat and covers his mouth with her hand, shutting him up.

"-Fun loving person! Whom we admire and respect," Pyrrha quickly replaces his words before dropping her hand as Jaune nervously laughs and then everyone, except for Khazhak, nervously look at Blake, who is giving Jaune a death glare.

Khazhak breathes a sigh of relief, "Nice save, Pyrrha," he says.

"Right…that. Ladies, enjoy your battle," Jaune says, bowing to them as Pyrrha returns to her seat.

"Sup losers," they hear a playful voice and turn around to see Sun with his fingers in a peace sign, and Neptune, both appearing behind Blake.

"Hey, Sun," Ruby greets him.

"Ruby, Yang, Blake, Team KEPL, Ice Queen," Sun greets them, directing the less flattering name at Weiss.

"Why does everyone keep calling me that?!" Weiss asks, annoyed at the nickname.

"Beats me," Reaper sarcastically mutters.

"I never got a chance to formally introduce you to my old friend," Sun motions to Neptune.

"Uh, aren't libraries for reading?" Neptune asks, talking about their game being held in the library.

"THANK YOU!" Ren and Porphyrius yell, hands in the air.

"Pancakes!" Nora shouts, suddenly waking up from her dream and lifting her head.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd," Sun criticizes Neptune.

"Geh-geh-geh-geh! Intellectual, okay? Thank you," Neptune corrects him. "I'm Neptune," he introduces himself.

"So Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asks him.

"Haven," he answers before walking over to Weiss. "And I don't believe I caught your name, Snow Angel," he flirts with her.

"Um, I'm Weiss," she replies, fluttering her eyes as his suave moves are working on her.

"Are you kidding me?!" Jaune aggravatingly mutters from behind them, mad that Weiss is immediately taking a liking to Neptune and not him.

"Uh-oh, Neptune's making a move on the Ice Queen. Better be careful now, bro," Lloyd mutters.

"Pleasure to meet you," Neptune says to Weiss, remaining cool.

"I never took you as the board game playing type," Sun says to Blake.

"Right, well, I think I'm done playing actually. I'll see you guys later," Blake says as she stands up and leaves everyone, to which Sun just shrugs his shoulders while everyone else looks on.

"Women," Nora comments.

 _"And here I thought Blake would finally wise up and not try to deal with the White Fang by herself. IDIOT,"_ Khazhak mentally says.

"Um well, what about our game?" Ruby asks.

"How about I play?" Neptune offers.

"Um, okay, I guess that's alright. Just don't start crying after I beat you," Yang says.

"Well, I'm done for now. I want to get some studying done, so I'll at least watch a little bit. Anyone want to take my place?" Weiss asks.

"Reaper…Don't beat them too badly," Khazhak says as he and the rest of the team get ready to leave.

Reaper just grunts in amusement before taking Weiss' seat and cards.

"Hey, Khazhak, you sure you should let Reaper play? I'm pretty good, as you have seen," Yang says, confidence blooming off of her.

Khazhak stops and glances back at her, "Who do you think helps me come up with all of our team strategies?" he replies before leaving along with Porphyrius and Lloyd.

Hearing this, the rest of the group look at Reaper, who just arranges his cards, and cracks his neck. Though they can't see it, they can just FEEL him smirking behind his mask. This will not end well.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A little animosity between Khazhak and Ironwood, for good reason. We also got to learn a little more about Lloyd's past, which we'll see more of later in the story. What awaits our teams in the future? Will the players survive Reaper's cunning mind in the board game? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	28. Chapter 23: The Mission Begins

**Here we are at Chapter 23. Who knows what happened with Ruby and Yang's game against Reaper? We're about to find out. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 23. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 23: The Mission Begins**

 _…In Team KEPL's room, later that night…_

After leaving Ruby, Yang, and Neptune to the mercy of Reaper, the rest of Team KEPL return to their dorm room, albeit with a few things still on their minds.

"So, anyone else getting annoyed with Blake's recent behavior lately?" Porphyrius asks as he does some studying on his bunk.

"Yeah, that's been pissing me off lately. I mean, we come in, save her butt, help her get her team back together, and what do we get? Not even a thank you. Just her back to our faces, and her antisocial behavior on steroids. It's getting on my last nerve," Lloyd agrees with his partner.

"Agreed. Even now, Blake still doesn't adhere to the advice I've given her in the past. I don't have to be a genius to know that what happened at the docks with Roman Torchwick and the White Fang is still bugging her. My guess is that she may be thinking about dealing with this on her own. If she won't trust her teammates, then that will put them in unnecessary danger, and that is something I will not tolerate," Khazhak notes as he stares out the dorm window, arms crossed.

"Is that because you don't want Ruby getting hurt? Nudge-nudge, wink-wink," Lloyd teases him, only to get a book thrown in his face, sending him flying into the restroom with the door closing on him. "OW!"

"That reminds me, what are we going to do about that? We gonna look into this?" Porphyrius asks.

"Yes. It's no secret that Roman Torchwick isn't a big fan of the Faunus, so for him to be working with the White Fang is a huge stretch, even for him. Something doesn't feel right about this, and we need to find out what," Khazhak says.

"You sure Professor Ozpin would approve of that?" Porphyrius asks.

"I don't give a damn what he thinks. If he won't look into this, then we will," Khazhak replies.

Just then, their door opens up and Reaper walks in, "I'm back," he says.

Lloyd then comes out of the restroom, holding his head, "Ow…Hey, Reaper. So, how'd it go?" he asks.

"Well…" Reaper begins.

 _…Earlier, in the library…_

"Well, this was a fun game. Let's play again sometime," Reaper says as he stands up from his seat and leaves the group.

Weiss, Sun, and Team JNPR watch him leave before turning to Ruby, Yang, and Neptune…who all have their heads on the table, crying waterfall tears. The table shows that most of Reaper's forces are still up, while all of their forces have been decimated.

"I lost all of my soldiers again!" Ruby cries.

"But…I was winning! How?!" Yang cries with her as the two sister hug and cry some more.

"It's okay…be cool. You're cool," Neptune says to himself, trying and failing to look cool.

 _…Back in Team KEPL's room…_

"It was easy, really," Reaper notes.

"Well, now that you're back, we're all gonna head out. It's time we looked into Roman Torchwick and the White Fang," Khazhak says as he holsters his blades.

The team leave their dorm room, however as they pass by Team RWBY's room…

"And we may never BE ready!" they hear what sounds like Blake yelling and decide to listen in. "Our enemies aren't just gonna sit around and wait for graduation day. They're out there, SOMEWHERE planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming. Whether we're ready…or not," Blake voices her concerns.

Ruby calms them down, "Okay…All in favor of becoming the youngest huntresses to single-handedly bring down a corrupt conspiring against the kingdom of Vale…Say 'aye," Ruby declares.

Yang pumps her left fist, "Yes! I love it when you're feisty," she says, pointing at Blake.

"Well, I guess it could be fun," Weiss adds.

"None of you said 'aye," Ruby pouts.

"Alright then. We're in this together," Blake says.

"We're coming with you," a voice behind their door says.

They look to see the door kicked open and Team KEPL walk in.

"Why'd you kick the door open?! And for that matter, how did you unlock it?!" Weiss shrieks.

Khazhak emits lightning on his left arm, "I can create and control lightning. You think an electronic lock is gonna harsh my mellow?" Khazhak bluntly replies. "Anyway, we're joining you on your little mission. We were planning on doing the same thing anyway. Might as well go together," Khazhak says.

"Wait, Khazhak, you and your team don't have to get involved. It could be dangerous," Ruby warns him.

"Don't insult us, Ruby. My team and I have been in many battles long before we came here. If anything, YOUR team needs to be more careful," Khazhak says, eyeing Blake before walking to her. "Blake, you really need to start heeding my advice. If you keep trying to handle the world's problems by yourself, then it will be your teammates that will pay the price. They are your friends, so let them help you, because only TOGETHER can you stop this," he tells her.

Blake sighs, "…Okay," she replies, to which Khazhak nods.

"Okay then, let's hatch a plan," Ruby announces.

"Yeah!" Yang says, pointing her hands in gun signs at her.

Ruby then gasps, "I left my board game in the library," she says as realization sets in.

"We're doomed," Weiss says, shaking her head in her hand.

Ruby then runs out of the room, "I'll be right back-oof!" Ruby yells as she runs, but then collides into someone. She lands on her butt on the floor. "Oh, sorry. A-are you okay?" she quickly apologizes.

She looks up to see a girl with red eyes and emerald green hair with two long strands down her back, and a boy with messy gray hair, both wearing Haven academy uniforms.

The girl with the green hair offers her a hand, "I'm fine. Just watch where you're going," she politely says and helps Ruby up.

Ruby nervously laughs as she gets pulled up, "Oh, right, sorry. Um, I'm Ruby. Are you new?" she asks.

"Visiting from Haven, actually," A second girl with black hair and burning eyes says as she suddenly appears from behind the first two, while wearing the same outfit as the first girl's, but with black stockings instead.

Ruby looks at her for a moment, thinking about something, while the second just smiles like nothing is wrong.

"Oooh, you're here for the festival. Oh, but exchange students have their own dormitory," Ruby says.

"I guess we just got turned around," the boy says.

"Oh, heh-heh, don't worry, happens all the time. Uh, your building is juuust east of here," Ruby says as the first two students walk past her.

"Thanks, maybe we'll see you around," the second girl says as she then walks by Ruby.

"Yeah, maybe. Oh, uh and welcome to Beacon," Ruby greets them as they walk away.

As they walk by Team RWBY's room, Khazhak step out and they make eye contact for a moment as everything goes in slow motion. The girl with the black hair gives him a gentle smile by then, but Khazhak keeps a serious expression and his eyes narrowed on her as time goes back to normal and she walks away. Then, Lloyd pops up next to Khazhak.

"What's wrong, brother?" Lloyd asks.

"…I don't know. But like I said before, Lloyd. We need to keep our guard up," Khazhak mutters as he continues to watch the three students walk away. _"After all, we don't know who may be our real enemies in this conflict."_

…

After waiting for Ruby to return with her board game, the two teams plan out their next move.

"Okay, so what should we do first?" Ruby asks.

Khazhak crosses his arms, "Recon. We need to find out what their next move might be, and where they're hiding. We'll have to head to the city to figure out those two things," he says.

"So, what, the eight of us go all over Vale looking for any guys that look suspicious and beat them up until they tell us what we want to know?" Yang asks.

Reaper shakes his head, "Having all of us together would do us no good. We'll need to split up into groups to cover more ground. It would be best not to travel alone," Reaper says.

"Alright, so let's figure out what we'll do. However, it would be best to do so after classes are over. If we were to skip classes and leave the campus during that time, we may get into some trouble that could slow us down," Weiss suggest.

"Yeah, right. You just don't want to skip class and do something fun for once," Lloyd jokes, making Weiss turn her head away with a grunt.

"Enough. Let's go over the plan. After classes tomorrow, we'll meet up here, reprise our roles, and then head out to conduct the investigation," Khazhak decides for everyone.

 _…The next day, in Team KEPL's room…_

While the girls are finishing up their last class of the day, Team KEPL are in their room, preparing for their mission. Both teams decided to wear different attire then their usual clothing for this mission, and so the members of Team KEPL are getting their new gear on. Khazhak is still wearing his dragon necklace, his usual black fingerless gloves and gray gauntlets with blue lightning bolt markings, and the same black and blue shoes, but the rest of his attire has been altered. For the mission, Khazhak is wearing a long cloak that splits into two separate parts, giving of the image of wings on his back. The cloak wraps around his neck and shoulders, with a high collar, and is black on the outside, but blue on the inside. He is also wearing a tight-fitting, zip-up black shirt with a blue dragon head and lightning bolt symbols on the front, a blue and black belt with a silver belt buckle, and black pants with blue lightning bolt markings. His thunder dragon emblem is on the back of the cloak.

Reaper is still wearing his signature skull mask, as well as his red and gray gauntlets and armored boots. However, he is now wearing a long black and red robe with a brown sash around the shoulders, and a black hood with his red scythe skull emblem on the right side. He also has on a brown strap with four gray skull pendants on it, and a brown belt with a red and gray belt buckle.

For Porphyrius, he is wearing a black shirt with a purple cross on the front of his upper chest, with a high neck, and it comes with a brown strap around the middle of his chest with several metal buttons on it. The shirt is mainly black with some purple on it on his lower chest, but it has an opening, revealing his toned abs. He is also wearing a brown belt with a purple belt buckle, which is holding up an undamaged black and purple cloak around his waist. He is wearing black pants with brown leather straps on it for a little added protection, and black and purple shoes. On his arms are a pair of detached black sleeves, with a purple ring around each above the wrists, and a small purple belt strap around each set under the shoulders. Finally, he has his signature eyepatch on his right eye, with his emblem on it.

Meanwhile, Lloyd is wearing a different set of armor, with different shades of gray on it, over a black long sleeved shirt, and black pants. The armor is spiked on his shoulders, elbows, and knees, with the rest of the armor covering his lower arms, whole torso, and most of his legs except for his inner thighs, and has on metal boots on his feet. The armor around his lower arms is made thinner than the rest of the armor so as to make it easier to equip his clawed gauntlets. His clawed shield emblem is on his back.

"Team RWBY's last class today will be ending shortly. We'll meet up with them in their room and go over our separate parts for the investigation," Khazhak explains, hooking on his gauntlets.

"You think we'll find anything that can give us an idea of what Roman's up to?" Porphyrius asks as he straps on his backpack weapon.

"Hopefully, we'll find something. It is never good to go up against an enemy when you know little to nothing about them, as my father used to say," Khazhak replies.

"Well, with both team's involved, we should at least find something of interest to us," Reaper adds.

"Alright, Team KEPL, prepare to move out," Khazhak commands them.

 _…Team RWBY's room…_

Meanwhile, In Team RWBY's room, the girls put on their new attire for the mission. Ruby is wearing a long-sleeved, light gray shirt with black belt cuffs near the ends of the sleeves. Over the top of the gray shirt is a black pinafore with two vertical lines of red stitching that resemble the lacing of a corset. She is wearing a red skirt with a large black-colored print of her rose emblem on the side of it, with the inside of the skirt being black. She still has on the same pitch black stockings, but with a different pair of black-and-red boots. A few pieces of metal arranged in an abstract shape are attached to her sleeve on her left shoulder, probably as a spaulder. Finally, she is wearing the usual red cape, but with a scarf as part of the hood.

For Weiss, she is wearing a pure white dress with black edging and two columns of four black buttons on the abdomen. Her snowflake emblem is printed on her back like her bolero jacket, but in pale blue instead of white. The inside of the skirt portion of the dress contains black frills, and she is also wearing thigh-high, white high-heel boots with frilly black thigh-high stockings coming up slightly above her the top of her boots. As for Blake, she is wearing a white v-neck zip-up shirt that that is black along the bottom and has mid-length sleeves. Her belladonna flower emblem is printed in off-white on the left side of her shirt. She is wearing black pants that have a vertical gray stripe on the outer side of each leg, and she is wearing a black belt with them. Attached to the inner side of the belt is a black, somewhat curved banner-like piece of fabric that hangs from the back and extends forward to her hips. On the underside of this is a thinner, longer, similarly-shaped purple piece of fabric. Her black high-heel boots come halfway up her calves and have a pair of belted straps across them. Finally, she is still wearing her black ribbons on her arms and her black bow over her cat ears.

For Yang, she is wearing a collared cream top over a black shirt, and over top of the former is a black article of clothing consisting of a raised collar, a strap across her collar bone, and mid-length sleeves that are gold at the end. Around her neck is a pendant that has a smooth, round, purple gem set in a round piece of metal that has a point coming off the left and right sides and a small oval shape coming from the bottom. She has a pair of crooked black belts with gold accents across her hips, and a purple piece of fabric with lilac lace around the edges hanging from her left hip. She has a dark-gray article of clothing coming down from under her cream top that is either a miniskirt or part of her black shirt. It has vertical belted straps going down into her thigh-high black stockings, which have her burning heart emblem printed in yellow on the outer side of each leg near the top and a row of four gold pyramid studs above each knee. She is wearing a pair of black boots with a series of belted straps across them. Finally, on the back of each boot at the top is a large white ribbon tied into a bow.

"I thought that class would never end," Blake says as she's tightening her black ribbons on her arms and passing by Ruby and Weiss on their beds.

"Alright guys, today's the day. The investigation begins!" Ruby exclaims, jumping from her top bunk and landing in her feet, making Weiss jump back on her bed.

"I'm glad to see we're taking this SO seriously," Weiss deadpans.

"Hey, we've got a plan. That's…moderately serious," Yang reassures her.

Just then, Khazhak kicks their door open…again…and his team walk in, scaring the girls...again.

"Jeez, you ever heard of knocking?!" Weiss yells.

"Yeah," Khazhak bluntly responds.

"You ever thought about trying it?!" Weiss asks.

"No," Khazhak bluntly replies again.

As Porphyrius walks in, he notices Yang's outfit and tries to hold back a little blush on his cheeks. However, Yang notices and throws him a smile and wink as she poses with her arms behind her head.

"Oh, like what you see, Porphyrius?" she teases him.

"I, uh, you, argh," Porphyrius grunts, making Yang snicker at his inability to say anything.

"Don't worry. I don't bite…much," Yang flirts with him, making him pull up his collar higher to hide his red face.

"Anyway, it appears we are all ready to go, so let's get started," Khazhak gets everyone back on task.

"Right, everyone remember their roles?" Ruby asks.

"You and I will head to the CCT to check the Schnee records for any other dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem," Weiss says, hand on her chest and confidence reeking from her posture.

Blake places her hands behind her back, "The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what their planning," she says.

Yang crosses her arms, "I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows EVERYTHING going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be TOO hard," Yang says.

"We know an information broker in that part of Vale. Lloyd and I will see if she has any information regarding Torchwick and the White Fang," Porphyrius explains his part.

"Me and Reaper will be accompanying Ruby and Weiss with their objective," Khazhak says with Reaper nodding.

"What? Why?" Ruby asks.

"Because knowing you, little rose, I'll bump into more action and interesting information if I stick with you. Reaper will be acting as my support," Khazhak replies, making Ruby chuckle nervously.

"Yeah right, brother. You just don't want to get anywhere near that information broker. What's wrong? Too scared to want to see your girlfriend?" Lloyd jokes, making Team RWBY look at him in shock.

"Woah, when did you get snagged, Khazhak?" Yang teases him, which makes him facepalm.

 _"Girlfriend?! When did he get a girlfriend?! Wait, why am I freaking out about this?!"_ Ruby mentally flips out as a blush forms on her face.

"She is NOT my girlfriend. That crazy chick just keeps trying to get into my pants every time she sees me. Which is why YOU TWO will go see her for information," Khazhak corrects them.

 _"She's not his girlfriend? Oh, that's a relief. Wait, why am I relieved by that? It's not like I have a crush on him…do I?"_ Ruby mentally questions herself again as she covers her face that's almost as red as her cape with her hands.

"Enough. We need to stay on our objective, right Ruby?" Khazhak asks, not noticing the younger girl's disposition.

Ruby clears her head, "Right. We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found. Let's do this!" she pumps her right fist.

"Yeah!" an unknown voice is heard.

Everyone look over at the window to see Sun Wukong hanging upside down by his tail, outside the window, smiling. Everyone takes a step back.

"Sun?!" Blake yells, shocked at his appearance.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asks.

"Oh, it's easy. I do it all the time," he answers.

"You do WHAT?!" Weiss shrieks.

"I climb trees all the time," Sun quickly answers, ignoring her scowl at him before he flips into the room and onto his feet. "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?" he asks.

"WE are going to investigate the situation, as our own TWO TEAMS," Blake emphasizes their positions.

"Sorry, but this party is invitation only," Lloyd jokes.

"Sorry, Sun. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to," Ruby points out.

"Psst, that's dumb. You should always get friends involved. That's why I brought Neptune," Sun says, pointing his thumb behind him.

Team RWBY, with Team KEPL standing behind them, look out the side of the window to see Neptune standing on the ledge outside their room.

"'Sup," he greets them.

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby asks.

"I have my ways," Neptune replies, before he sees how high up they are. "Seriously though, can I come in? We're, like, really high up right now," he fearfully pleads.

"What, scared of heights?" Lloyd asks before making chicken sounds until Khazhak punches him in the face back into the room. "OW!"

With Neptune now in the room, the group then change up their plan a little bit.

"Alright, I'll go with Weiss, Khazhak, and Reaper, Porphyrius and Lloyd will go their way. Sun, you can go with Blake. And Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner," Ruby says, while pushing Neptune who is still frozen from being on the ledge, but he winks at Weiss as he is pushed by her.

"Actually Ruby, why don't you go with Yang, heh? After all, she is your sister," Weiss suggests.

"And probably end up somewhere someone her age shouldn't be at? Brilliant idea," Porphyrius sarcastically mutters.

"But Weiss, who would go with you then?" Ruby asks while Yang stops Neptune from rocking back in forth as he is still frozen with fear.

"Well, I guess Neptune could come with me," Weiss says, to which Neptune gives a thumbs up sign.

"She's so obvious," Reaper mutters.

Ruby snorts and laughs, "Nah," she rejects the suggestion and then starts walking out the room while pulling Weiss by the back of her dress.

"But! But!" Weiss pleads, reaching out to Neptune in vain.

"Don't worry, you'll see your prince charming later…maybe," Khazhak blandly jokes as he and Reaper follow them out of the room.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Now things under getting underway for the mission between Team KEPL and Team RWBY. Not much happened here, but that will change soon enough. What awaits our two teams in this investigation? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	29. Chapter 24: The Mission Begins - Part 2

**Here we are at Chapter 24. Let's see how this investigation goes. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 24. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 24: The Mission Begins – Part 2**

 _…On the Beacon Campus, near the CCT…_

After dealing with the slight change of plans back at Team RWBY's dorm room, Khazhak, Reaper, Ruby, and Weiss make their way to the CCT tower.

"I'm starting to think they forgot why we are here?" Reaper mutters, to which Khazhak nods.

"Wow! I forget how big the transmit tower looks up close!" Ruby shouts with excitement as they near the tower.

"You should see the one in Atlas," Weiss says.

"That was the first one, right?" Ruby notes.

"Correct. Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War," Weiss goes into student mode.

"Oooh, my name's Weiss. I know facts. I'm rich," Ruby jokes around and she starts snickering into her hands while Reaper chuckles and Khazhak makes no response.

Weiss scowls at her, "Don't be a pest. Besides, the only reason we're hear is because YOU like the tower so much. We could have just as easily made a call from the library," Weiss points out.

"Makes no difference to me," Khazhak utters.

"I know, but it's so cool! Oh, I'm gonna take a picture," Ruby says before she pulls out her scroll, but fumbles with it and it falls out of her hands.

The scroll bounces a few times before it stops when it hits someone's feet. That same person picks it up and it turns out to be their friend, Penny Polendina.

"Oh. You dropped this," She says, holding the scroll out to them.

"Penny?!" Ruby gasps.

"Uhhhh," Penny stutters.

"Where have you been? We haven't seen you since the night at the docks," Ruby notes.

"So, she's the girl you mentioned with the blades coming out of her back," Reaper says to Khazhak.

"Yep, though we haven't seen her in a while," Khazhak notes.

"S-sorry. I think you're confused," Penny tries to act like she doesn't know them, but then hiccups, making the scroll bounce out of her hand and into Ruby's hand.

"Oh, so there's more than one girl that looks EXACTLY like you Penny? Who would've thought…" Khazhak sarcastically says, crossing his arms.

"I've got to go," Penny says before quickly turning around and walking away.

"What was that about?" Weiss questions.

"I don't know...But I'm going to find out. You go make your call. I'll meet up with you later," Ruby says as she begins to chase after Penny.

"Reaper, you stay here with Weiss. I'll follow Ruby," Khazhak orders him before he goes after Ruby.

"Roger that," Reaper replies.

"Wait! Ugh!" Weiss calls out to them to no avail and can only shake her head at them.

Reaper puts a hand on her shoulder, "Never mind that now. Let's us get what we came here for," he says, motioning to the tower.

As Penny is walking down some steps, Ruby and Khazhak catchup to her.

"Penny, where have you been? It's been weeks!" Ruby asks her.

"You show up to help us out at the docks and the pull off a disappearing act. Kind of makes us wonder if you were okay," Khazhak adds.

"There seems to be a…misunderstanding," Penny lies.

"What?!...Penny," Ruby says as Penny tries to walk away again, but Khazhak walks ahead of her and Ruby slides down the rail bar in the center of the steps. "Is everything okay?" Ruby asks when she reaches the bottom, but Penny keeps walking away.

"Alright, that's it," Khazhak says before stepping in front of Penny and preventing her from leaving.

"Penny, please stop!" Ruby stops her too, which makes Penny stop, look at her, then hang her head. "Look, I don't know what's wrong, but you have listen to us. Those guys we fought at the docks; we think they're up to something big, something BAD. I need you to tell me what happened to you that night. Please, as a friend," Ruby pleads with her.

"You wouldn't hurt one of your friends, would you Penny?" Khazhak asks her.

Penny sighs before looking around at the people around them. She then walks up close to Ruby and Khazhak.

"It isn't safe to talk here," she whispers.

… _With Weiss and Reaper…_

Meanwhile, Weiss and Reaper walk into the CCT to complete their objective. They walk past one cylindrical terminal with several computers on it as they head for the elevator and step inside.

"Hello. Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?" a female voice politely ask them inside the elevator.

"We'd like to go to the communications room please," Weiss replies.

"Absolutely. Could the two of you please place your scrolls on the terminal to verify your identities," the voice politely asks again. Weiss and Reaper place their scrolls on the terminal and several beeping noises are heard as they are verified. "Perfect. Thank you Miss Schnee and Mr. Reaper," the voice says before ending.

As the elevator goes up, Weiss' face frowns, but then she tries to put on smile, but shakes her head and tries to put a better smile on with her eyes closed before ultimately returning to a frown. Reaper notices all of this.

"Trying to look pretty in case your father is on the other end?" Reaper asks.

"No. I just…I just don't want any complications from anyone on the other end. Especially if he is mentioned or involved," Weiss woefully answers.

"Still hung up about what you learned about Porphyrius?" Reaper gently asks her.

"…Yeah, I guess. I just…don't know what to do about that with my father, or how to possibly earn his forgiveness. Not for my father, but maybe for myself," Weiss sadly says.

Reaper places a supportive hand on her left shoulder, "No need to do so many things all at once. For now, just focus on our investigation, and stay calm. You'll be fine. Besides, I'm right here in case you need some support," Reaper reassures her.

Weiss smiles at this, "Thanks, Reaper," she replies.

They eventually make it to the communications room. The room has many terminals for people to communicate with people in other areas or other kingdoms. Weiss and Reaper walk up to the reception desk and a hologram of a woman with brown eyes and brown hair curled to right side and wearing a black suit appeared at the reception desk.

"Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit Center. How may I help you?" the hologram asks politely, acting almost like a real person.

"We need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas," Weiss answers.

The hologram starts typing on her key board, "Absolutely. If you two can head over to terminal 3, I'll patch you through," the hologram says, showing a polite smile.

"Thank you," Reaper says, and then they walk to the designated terminal, passing by other people on other terminals.

When they reach the terminal, which looks like a high tech computer, Weiss sits down in a chair while Reaper stands off to the side, out of the screen's view, and she breaths a heavy sigh with a sad face, but puts a fake smile on before the terminal comes on. A moment later, the terminal comes on, and on the screen is a blue-eyed, orange-haired female in a gray military-styled suit.

"Thank you for calling the Atlas-oh, Miss Schnee. Good afternoon," the worker greets, surprised at Weiss being there. "Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well," the lady asks.

"No thank you. I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list," Weiss says, and plugs her scroll into one console, sending the list over to the other end.

The lady looks over the list, "I see. If you don't mind, what may I ask is this for?" the lady asks, getting curious.

"School project," Weiss lies.

"Um, there are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am," the lady says, feeling uneasy.

"Then I'll be sure to handle them with care," Weiss says.

"…Right. Very well, the data's being transferred to your scroll now," the lady concedes to them.

"Wonderful. That will be all then," Weiss says, picking up her scroll.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?" the lady asks.

"Yes, I'm sure," Weiss says, putting on a forced smile.

"Well then, have a nice day," the lady says before the screen goes off and Weiss' forced smile turns into a real frown.

Reaper notices and puts another comforting hand on her shoulder, which cheers her up a little bit.

"Now that we have what we came for, let us see what those files will show us. After that, perhaps we can find out where Ruby and Khazhak went with Penny," Reaper suggests, while Weiss nods in reply.

… _With Ruby, Khazhak, and Penny…_

Penny is waiting out in front of a local café, looking worried until a hand taps on her right shoulder and she looks over to see Ruby with a bit smile and Khazhak behind her. This causes Penny to smile a little and the three begin walking through the city.

"I wish I could help you Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men," Penny says.

"Well, what happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you just disappeared. Were you kidnapped?" Ruby worriedly asks her.

"Oh, no! Nothing like that," Penny quickly replies.

"I highly doubt you would've been kidnapped by them. Not after seeing you wipe the floor with them with your skills," Khazhak notes.

"Well, then where did you go?" Ruby asks again.

"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but-Oh, you have to understand, my father loves me very much. He just worries a lot," Penny explains.

"Heh, believe me, I know the feeling," Ruby says, rolling her eyes.

"It's good to have a father that cares about his children. Nothing wrong with that," Khazhak says, making Penny smile.

"But, why not let us know you were okay?" Ruby asks.

"I…was asked…not to talk to you. Or Khazhak, or Weiss, or Blake, or Yang, Lloyd. Anybody really," Penny explains.

 _"You mean 'ordered' not to speak to us,"_ Khazhak notes in his head, seeing what Penny really meant.

"Was your dad that upset?" Ruby questions.

"No, it wasn't my father," Penny begins until she hears a broadcast and they look over to the town square.

The town square has steps surrounding a square center, and on that center is a hologram of General Ironwood in front of two large crates behind six Atlesian Knight-130s.

"The AK-130 has been the standard security line of Remnant for several years. And they have done a fine job, wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" the Ironwood hologram says, with the robots taking a bow to the clapping audience of people gathered in the square. "But, the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and fine? Well, that's just not good enough, is it? Ironwood says as the two crate open up behind the AK-130s, revealing six new robot soldiers with more slender, humanoid looking bodies, and with white armor over the black inner workings still visible underneath. "Presenting the Atlesian Knight…200," Ironwood introduces the new machines, which kick over the older robots, standing on them, and making the crowd clap again. "Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary," Ironwood continues as the new machines do poses for the crowd. "These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone. Now, the Atlesian military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that undoubtedly require…a human touch," Ironwood continues.

"Ruby…" Penny motions to Ruby, who continues to look on in awe, while Khazhak looks on in disgust.

"So…Our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce…The Atlesian Paladin!" the Ironwood hologram explains and disappears as a larger machine takes his place. The Paladin is an enormous gray-colored mechanized battle suit, able to house one pilot in the body, and has two energy guns on the sides, two rocket launchers mounted onto its back, and double barreled guns on the side of the other energy guns. The body is a little funky on the arms and legs. The crowd clap again at the site of the new weapon. "Now, we can't have them here for you today. But these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!" Ironwood exclaims, making the crows applaud again.

"What a load of crap. Trusting the fate of the kingdoms to a couple of walking trashcans," Khazhak voices his displeasure.

"Woah," Ruby says, jaw dropped in sheer awe at the site.

"…Ruby, maybe we should go somewhere else," Penny says, stepping back a bit.

Just then two Atlas human soldiers wearing gray-and-blue body armor, black pants, silver helmets covering most of their faces, and guns strapped to their backs, notice Penny and her friends. Penny turns and starts running away across the street and down a back alley.

"Penny? Wait! Where are you going?!" Ruby calls out, but turns back to see the two soldiers running towards them.

"Time to move!" Khazhak says and they both run after Penny, and away from the soldiers.

As Penny turns right down the alley, Khazhak and Ruby run to catch up to her, with the two soldiers not too far behind. Penny, with Ruby and Khazhak not far behind her, crossing one street into another alley. The soldiers keep chase until the first one almost gets run over by a car, but the vehicle stops just as it hits the soldier, who remains on his feet, while the other continues the chase. Khazhak looks back at this before looking ahead at Ruby and then Penny who turns left down the alley. He notices some wooden boxes help up on a wooden platform, and thinking quickly, pulls out one of his swords. He slices the wooden platform, making it fall to the ground with the wooden crates blocking the alleyway from the soldiers, and then continues his run with Ruby and Penny. As they keep running, Ruby sees Penny ahead of them, and then jumps and starts running along a wall on her right, while Khazhak pulls out his swords and fires them behind him to give him a little push to keep up. Ruby then uses her semblance to shoot over to Penny and grabs her around her waist.

"This way!" Ruby says, and then winches as she uses her semblance again to shoot them down another alleyway like a rocket, while Khazhak tries to keep up with her speed.

At one point, Ruby loses her energy and they drop onto the ground, with Penny stopping while Ruby rolls out onto another street. She slowly sits up and rubs her head until she hears a truck horn behind her and stands up, turning around to see a cargo truck coming at her.

"RUBY!" Khazhak yells and fires his swords multiple times to get to her. _"I'm not gonna make it!"_

Suddenly, Penny pushes Ruby out of the way, and then holds her hands out, stopping the truck, causing a crater to form in the ground under her and the truck to lift off the ground for a moment. By this point, Khazhak reaches Ruby, but both of them look on in shock.

"Penny?" Ruby asks, her face filled with worry, and maybe a little fear.

"Are you okay?!" Penny asks the driver, who nods in confirmation.

Penny looks at Ruby and Khazhak and sees Ruby's scared expression, "Um, uh…" she stutters, looking at her hands.

She looks at other people converging on the scene, looking at her, and then she runs away, pushing past Ruby.

"Penny, come back!" Ruby calls out and they run after her again, leaving the scene as the two soldiers from before arrive on the scene.

Penny stops at one point in the alley, and the Ruby and Khazhak catch up to her.

"Penny! Please, what is going on?! Why are you running?! How did you do THAT?!" Ruby asks, trying to figure out what's going on.

"Come on, you have to tell us what's going on. You're acting a lot weirder than usual," Khazhak adds.

"I-I can't. Everything's fine (Hiccup). I-I don't want to talk about it (Hiccup)!" Penny says, hiccupping as she speaks, crossing her arms and turning her head away.

"Penny, if you can just tell me what's wrong, I can help you!" Ruby pleads with her.

"No. No, no. You wouldn't understand," Penny says.

"Then let us TRY to understand. Penny, you can trust us," Khazhak says.

"You guys are my friends, right? You promise you're my friends?" Penny pleads, walking up to them.

"I promise," Ruby promises.

"You have my word," Khazhak swears.

Penny looks down at her hands, "Ruby…Khazhak…I'm NOT a real girl," she admits, showing her palms…to reveal METAL parts from underneath the damaged skin.

"…Oh," Ruby utters, completely in shock.

"So that's why," Khazhak says, not as shocked as Ruby. _"Just as I thought, she was never a normal girl to begin with…She's almost like…Lloyd,"_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A little shorter than normal, but what can you do. Penny reveals the truth about her origins as the investigation gets underway. What does Penny mean about not being a real girl? What does Khazhak mean about Penny being similar to Lloyd? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	30. Chapter 25: Painting the Town

**Here we are at Chapter 25. Let's keep this investigation going as we uncover a few things. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 25. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Painting the town…**

… _With Ruby, Khazhak, and Penny…_

"Penny, I-I don't understand," Ruby says, trying to cope with she just found out.

"She' saying that she's an android, Ruby," Khazhak says, having already suspected this beforehand.

"Most girls are born, but I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an aura…I'm not real," Penny says, hanging her head.

Ruby reaches out, holding Penny's hands open first, but then closes them while still holding them.

"Of course you're are. You think just because you got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me or Khazhak?" Ruby comforts her.

"How you were BORN makes no difference to me. While you may be a little awkward at it, you're just as alive as any other normal person," Khazhak says, placing a hand on her right shoulder.

"I don't, um…You two are taking this extraordinarily well," Penny notes, confused.

"Hey, if I can accept a Half-Faunus like Porphyrius and a moron like Lloyd, then I should have no trouble accepting something like this," Khazhak says.

"Yeah. Besides, you're not like those things we saw back there. You've got a heart, and a soul, I can feel it," Ruby says, pointing at Penny's chest where her heart would be.

Penny then grabs the both of them, "Oh, oh, Ruby, Khazhak, you two are the best friends anyone could have!" Penny happily says, pulling both of their heads into a tight hug.

"Um, thanks. You can let go now," Khazhak groans in the tight embrace.

Ruby groans, "I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower," Ruby painfully says.

Penny then releases them, "Oh, he's VERY sweet. My father's the one that built me. I'm sure you would just love him," Penny says.

"Wow, heh-heh. He built you all by himself?" Ruby asks.

"Well almost. He had some help from Mr. Ironwood," Penny explains.

" _So, Ironwood's still up to his usual tricks. He still hasn't learned a damn thing, has he?"_ Khazhak mentally notes to himself.

"The general?...Wait, is that why those soldiers were after you?" Ruby asks.

"They like to protect me too," Penny says.

"Heh, I highly doubt YOU need protection," Khazhak notes.

"Yeah, they don't think you can protect yourself?" Ruby questions her.

"They're not sure if I'm ready yet. One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the tournament," Penny says.

"Penny, what are you talking about? Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace," Ruby says, getting confused.

"That's not what Mr. Ironwood said," Penny replies.

"Well the general has always been an idiot, Penny. You can't believe everything he says," Khazhak replies, getting irritated at the mention of the general.

"Check down here!" they hear the voice of one of the soldiers from earlier nearby.

"You have to hide!" Penny says, grabbing Ruby and picking her up over her head.

"Penny, Gah! What are you doing?! You don't have to go with them, I can help YOU!" Ruby shrieks, flailing around as Penny carries her to a nearby dumpster.

Penny throws her into the dumpster and the lid falls shut. Penny turns around to do the same to Khazhak, but Khazhak quickly pulls out his swords, and fires them at the ground, sending him flying onto the roof of the building behind the dumpster. Seeing as how Khazhak is now out of site, Penny goes back to the dumpster, and opens up the lid a little bit to look at Ruby.

"It's okay Ruby. They're not bad people, I just don't want you to get in trouble. Just promise me you won't tell anyone about my secret, okay?" she whispers to her.

"I promise. And don't worry about Khazhak. He won't tell anyone. He keeps his promises," Ruby replies before Penny closes the lid, but Ruby cracks it open a bit.

"There she is!" she hears the soldiers say as they catch up to Penny.

"Sal-u-tations, officers," Penny plays dumb.

"Why were you running? And what happened to the other two that were with you?" One of them asks her.

"What other two people? I've been by myself all day (Hiccup)," Penny lies, making herself hiccup from it and covering her mouth before placing her hands behind her back.

"You shouldn't cause such a scene," one soldier says.

"Are you okay?" the second asks her.

Penny shows them her hands, "Just a scratch," she says, but they get a little worried.

"Penny, your father isn't going to be happy about this," one soldier says.

"Please, just come with us," the other asks her.

"Yes sir," Penny replies, and they then walk away.

Khazhak jumps from the rooftop and lands in front of Ruby, "Well, at least that has been dealt with for now. Although, truth be told, I suspected she was an android when we first met her," Khazhak points out.

"I guess not much gets by you, huh?" Ruby says.

"Nope. By the way, you have a rat on your shoe," Khazhak says, pointing at her shoe.

Ruby hears a squeak, looks down, and then freaks out from the rat, falling back as the lid closes on her again. Khazhak takes this opportunity to rest his left arm on the lid and lean against the dumpster, preventing Ruby from escaping as she bangs on the lid.

"Khazhak! Let me out! There's more than one rat in here! LET ME OUT!" Ruby screams, banging on the lid both in fear and in anger.

"Don't worry, little rose. I'm thinking about it," Khazhak playfully responds, playing with his fingers as he ignores her pleas.

… _With Yang and Neptune…_

Later in the evening, Yang pulls up to one part of town on her yellow motorcycle, Bumblebee, with Neptune riding along. She takes off her yellow helmet and shakes her long, blonde hair a bit to get it back in place.

"Come on, my friend's right in here," Yang says, pointing to a local nightclub on her left.

She gets off her motorcycle, showing that Neptune was sitting behind her, looking disheveled, and his hair being messed up.

"Cool," he weakly says before shaking his head to fix his hair. "And where exactly IS here?" Neptune asks as he begins to get off her motorcycle.

"Somewhere a pretty boy like you shouldn't be anywhere near," a voice says.

They both look right to see Porphyrius and Lloyd walk up to them.

"Porphyrius? Lloyd? What are you two doing here?" Yang asks.

"We are here to talk to that information broker we talked about earlier at the meeting. What are you doing here?" Porphyrius asks.

"The friend I told you about owns this nightclub. I was going to talk to him to see if he knows anything…Wait…Don't tell me your information broker is one of those two twin bodyguards that works here?" Yang asks as she puts the pieces together.

"You know the one who dresses in white and wears blades on her heels right?" Porphyrius asks.

"Yeah," Yang says.

"Well, she's the information broker. She and her sister like to do this kind of work on the side to earn some extra cash. Speaking of which, how do you know these guys?" Porphyrius asks.

"I blew up their club awhile back when things didn't exactly go my way," Yang explains.

"…So that's why they looked so beat up the last time I saw them. You were the one that did that. I can see that. Well, might as well finish up our end of the investigation. You talk to your friend while Lloyd and I talk to the twins," Porphyrius says and they start walking again.

When they reach the door, the two guards recognize Yang from before and immediately freak out, running behind and closing the door.

"You want to knock, or shall I?" Porphyrius asks Yang, to which she smiles at him before pulling out her weapons.

Inside the night club, techno music is playing while red and white lights are flickering on and off on the dance floor. Men in black suits with red ties and glasses are setting up wine bottles and getting the other sets of music ready for the night.

"Hurry, close the door! She's coming!" the two guards from before say as they run through the doors before sliding them closed again in a panic.

Just then, a man wearing a white dress shirt with a black vest overtop, a red tie, black pants, shoes, and gloves, and has gray eyes with short, black hair and a black beard with a mustache. This would be Yang's "friend" Hei "Junior" Xiong.

'What are you two idiots doing?" Junior asks.

"Junior, she's here! She's back! The one with the-," the guards start before an explosion knocks them out and blasts open the door behind them.

From the smoke walks in Yang with a big smile on her face.

"Guess whose back!" Yang greets them with her smile and her eyes closed, only to have the rest of the guards point their guns at her.

Yang opens her eyes and looks past the guards pointing guns at her and looks back at the DJ, whose wearing a black and red bear head on his own, who fearfully lifts his head and then pulls the needle of the record player since it was stuck on one part of the music, before dropping his head again behind the machine in fear.

"Yeah, so could you define 'friend' for me?" Neptune playfully asks, as he comes up from behind Yang and the guards point their guns closer at them.

"Stop, stop! Nobody…shoot," Junior orders his men as we walks up in front of them and fixes his tie. "Blondie, you're hear. Why?" Junior nervously asks, not wanting to have his club destroyed again.

"YOU still owe me a drink," Yang says while pointing at Junior, and then walks up to him and pulls him by his arm, taking him to the bar. "Porphyrius, you go talk to the twins while I have a chat with Junior here," Yang says, looking back at Porphyrius as she walks away.

"Um…sure," Porphyrius stutters. _"I've certainly never met a woman like her before. Damn,"_ Porphyrius mentally notes.

"Woah, what a woman," Neptune says, mesmerized at Yang before he looks to his left.

He sees two girls, both probably the same age. They are the twin bodyguards, Melanie and Miltiades "Militia" Malachite, respectively.

"'Sup," Neptune flirts with them.

"Hmph. Whatever," the two twins say, turning their heads away from him and walking up to Porphyrius and Lloyd.

"Hey Porphyrius, Lloyd, been a while," Melanie greets them while Militia just waves.

"Pleasure to see you two doing well, too. I was hoping you two knew anything about what the White Fang and Roman Torchwick are up to," Porphyrius explains.

"Well, we might know something. But first…Where is Khazhak? Is he here?" Melanie quickly asks, turning into something like a school girl stalking her secret crush.

"He had other business to attend to, but he sends his regards and hopes you two are doing okay," Porphyrius replies, hoping that will satisfy them.

The twins groan, "I see. I was hoping he would show up sometime and we could have a nice long chat together. Hopefully in our private room of course," Melanie seductively says, while Militia just holds her blushing face in her hands.

"Um, right," Porphyrius says. _"Now I see why Khazhak does everything he can to avoid them,"_ he thinks.

Lloyd snickers before getting back on track, "Anyway, have you heard anything regarding Roman Torchwick and the White Fang? We're trying to find out what they're up to because we don't think they're done yet with whatever it is they're planning," Lloyd asks.

"Sorry, but ever since Torchwick came in here last year, looking for some men to hire, we haven't seen him. He hasn't talked to Junior either after that. And the guys we lent to him never came back," Melanie replies.

"Oh…yeah…that was probably our team leader's doing," Lloyd says, rubbing his head.

"What? Khazhak was there? Oh, I can't believe we missed it. I would've loved to see him in action," Miltiades says, swooning over Khazhak.

" _Yeah, maybe it's better that they don't find brother,"_ Lloyd mentally notes.

"Well, thanks anyway. We'll be going now. See you around," Porphyrius says as he and Lloyd go to meet back up with Yang and Neptune.

"Tell Khazhak we'll be waiting for him," Melanie says, waving to them.

Pophyrius and Lloyd inwardly shudder before meeting up with Yang and Neptune.

"Well, we got everything we can," Yang begins before Porphyrius and Lloyd join them. "Did the twins tell you anything useful? My end was a bust," Yang asks.

"Nope. We got nothing. Looks like the White Fang and Torchwick REALLY don't want anyone knowing about their plans," Porphyrius replies as they all walk to the exit of the bar.

Yang sighs, "Hopefully the others are having better luck," Yang says.

… _With Weiss and Reaper…_

"Well, it looks like we were able to get something out of this," Weiss notes as they ride the elevator down to the ground floor.

"Indeed. The records showed that most of the robberies have been occurring here in Vale. That means that whatever they're planning, they're focusing it on this kingdom. Now we just need to figure out what. Let's hope the others managed to find out something on their end," Reaper notes as they reach the ground floor.

Weiss and Reaper just step out of the elevator in the CCT when they get a call and Weiss pulls out her scroll.

"Everyone, if you can hear me, we need ba-HHEELLLLPPPPP!" they hear Blake start but Sun finish.

Weiss rolls her eyes while Reaper shakes his head before they start running to help them.

… _With Khazhak and Ruby…_

Khazhak had finally decided to let Ruby out of the dumpster a while ago before Ruby pulls out her scroll for the call.

"Big killer robot! And it's big! REALLY BIG!" Sun yells.

"Sounds like Roman managed to steal one of Ironwood's new Paladin units," Khazhak says.

"Oh, I am NOT missing this. Let's go Khazhak!" Ruby says and they both go to help their friends.

… _With Yang, Neptune, Porphyrius, and Lloyd…_

Yang and Neptune were on her bike, with Yang wearing her helmet, while Porphyrius and Lloyd were standing next to them when they get the call.

"That Torchwick guy is in it! But not like-it didn't eat him. He's like, controlling it or something!" Sun yells at them.

"Where are you guys?" Yang asks before getting her answer in the form of Blake and Sun running from the Atlesian Paladin behind them as they pass by Yang' group.

"HURRY!" Sun screams as they run by.

"I think that was them," Neptune says.

"Yeah, I got it," Yang replies as she revs up her motorcycle. "Porphyrius, I-," she begins.

"Go! We'll follow on rooftop!" Porphyrius says before he and Lloyd jump onto the rooftop of a nearby building and start running along the rooftops.

Yang then spins her motorcycle, with Neptune flailing around while sitting behind her, and the guns it to catch up to Blake and Sun. A moment later, Blake and Sun jump off a rooftop and onto moving cars driving on the highway. Torchwick in the Paladin jumps onto the highway after them. Blake and Sun look back.

"Woah!" Sun gasps.

Blake and Sun start hopping on and off cars on the highway, trying to bet away from Torchwick. Torchwick, on the other hand, just runs through the cars as he continues to chase them. As the chase continues, Yang and Neptune pull up behind Torchwick.

"We've got to slow it down!" Yang exclaims.

"Got it," Neptune replies, and begins reaching for his weapon on his back.

Torchwick picks up on this, and starts smashing into cars on the road, making them fly around towards Yang and Neptune.

"Hold on!" Yang says.

"Uh oh!" Neptune says.

Yang then moves her motorcycle right to evade two cars, then slides across the road to duck under another flying vehicle, before regaining her position to move left, then right to avoid a few more cars going all over the place. After avoiding the onslaught of flying cars, Neptune grabs his weapon. His weapon is a weapon colored gray with bluish light above the grip, with the area between the weapon's grip and butt end being fused, and the barrel boxy, with light gray patterns on it. When he pulls it out and turns it into its gun form, the barrel shows a blue tube of electricity being generated. He then fires four shots at the machine, hitting it three times. Netptune then stands up on Yang's motorcycle, and changes his weapon into its guandao form, where along handle extends from the butt end and the body gets a little smaller before forming a curved blade emitting light blue energy. He spins it a few times before he jumps up into the air, the weapon now turning into a trident, and then shoots over to the mech, stabbing his weapon into its back. Blake stops on one car while Sun lands on the trailer of a semi-truck and they look back at the scene.

"Neptune, hang on!" Sun yells as the mech starts spinning its upper body in order to try and shake Neptune off.

Sun smashes his palms together, and a yellow ball of energy explodes from them. From that, two yellow glowing clones of Sun appear and then jump at the mech, exploding when they make contact. Sun then jumps up, with his weapon in its staff form, ready to strike. However, Roman's mech spins again and sends Neptune flying into Sun, and they fall off of the highway. While watching this unfold, Blake gets a call from Weiss.

"Blake, I'm in position!" Weiss says before jumping off of another highway above them and landing on their highway, cars passing by while she readies her rapier.

As Roman gets closer, Weiss spins her body a few times before stabbing her sword into the road, forming a circular floor of ice around her. Torchwick's mech slips on the ice just before he hits her, and it comes tumbling off of the highway, breaking a blue screen on the edge along the way, before landing on its feet on the ground in front of Ruby, her sniper scythe ready. The rest of her team land beside her, their weapons drawn. However, Porphyrius and Lloyd suddenly show up, firing their weapons at Torchwick's right flank before they land next to Team RWBY. Then, Reaper jumps up from behind Torchwick, striking at the mech's head and then lands with the group. Finally, Khazhak lands in front of Ruby, his right sword encased in his lightning.

"LIGHTNING SLASH!" he yells, swinging his sword, sending a wave of lightning that hits the machine dead center. "Let's dance," Khazhak says as they all prepare to fight.

Torchwick laughs before he starts walking towards them.

"FREEZERBURN!" Ruby commands Yang and Weiss' combo move before she and the others jump out of their way.

Yang jumps straight into the air while Weiss stabs her sword into the ground and making another floor of ice. Yang cocks her right shotgun gauntlet while Weiss jumps out of the way and then she slams her fiery fist into the ice, exploding and making a dense fog appear in the area. The Paladin's multiple sensors activate, showing red targeting beams that start scanning the area and the mech slowly walks deeper into the fog. Roman looks around, not noticing Porphyrius and Reaper running behind him in the fog. Blake the quickly moves past Roman's left, then Ruby zooms past his right side, followed by Khazhak racing in front of him in the fog. Roman begins to turn left, and starts firing at Yang and Weiss as they run by, but only hits the ground. He then fires again at Yang and Blake, but misses, and then Ruby appears out from the explosion, charging right at him and hits the mech dead center before bouncing backwards. She lands on the ground, reloading her weapon as Lloyd comes up from behind her and jumps into the air. Khazhak then appears behind Lloyd, with his swords fused and blue lightning charging from them.

"STEEL RAIN!" Khazhak yells, and then slams his sword against Lloyd, encased in his steel skin semblance, launching him at the mech.

Lloyd nails the machine in the center of the body, making it stumble back, before he and Khazhak land next to Ruby.

"CHECKMATE!" Ruby signals Weiss and Blake's combo attack.

Blake and Weiss appear by her side before they charge at the mech, slashing their swords at its legs a few times, before Weiss jumps up and stabs one of its sensors, rendering it useless, before forming a glyph under her feet and back-flipping away. The mech goes to squash Blake under its right foot, but Weiss makes another glyph under Blake, pulling her away before it could crush her. Growling, Roman activates the Paladin's rocket launchers, firing off several missiles at Blake and Weiss.

"HEAVY METAL!" Khazhak signals Porphyrius and Lloyd for their combo.

Porphyrius and Lloyd fire their weapons, destroying most of the missiles while Blake and Weiss push off one of Weiss' glyphs, performing three backflips before jumping into the air.

Roman fires off his energy cannons, which hit Weiss in mid-air while Blake lands on the ground. While flying back in the air, Weiss sends a time dilation glyph to form under Blake's feet, and then hits the ground. The glyph starts spinning faster, giving Blake a major increase in her speed. Khazhak then runs by her.

"BONE STORM!" Khazhak signals his and Reaper's combo move.

Reaper sends out two of his skull phantoms, and then Khazhak infuses them with his lightning. The electric skulls collide and explode on the mech, pushing it back. The mech then fires more missiles at them. Khazhak and Reaper jump away to avoid some of the missiles, but thanks to Weiss' glyph, Blake starts slashing purple crescent waves of energy at them, slicing the missiles in half. She makes a series of incredibly fast slashes, cutting the missiles as she lands on her feet, with many explosions occurring behind her. After her little show, Ruby then runs behind her.

"LADYBUG!" Ruby calls out her and Blake's combo move.

Ruby fires her scythe behind her, shooting her at the mech as she hooks her scythe on is crotch, slicing it as she zooms past it. She then fires her scythe again, sending her back at it while Blake then runs at the mech from her side. The two crisscross the mech four times while slashing at its legs before it spins around to fire its energy guns at Ruby behind it. Ruby and Blake jump up to avoid it, and then Roman looks up to see them diving down at him. When they get close, they slice off the mech's left arm before jumping away. As the mech reels back from the attack, Yang jumps up from behind it, landing on its back and starts punching it repeatedly with her right arm. Feeling the punches from inside, Roman moves the mech backwards, slamming Yang through one pillar holding up the highway and crashing into another, cracking it. As Yang slowly falls down, the Paladin uses its right arm to punch Yang through the pillar and onto the ground.

"YANG!" Blake call out as she comes up beside Ruby and Khazhak.

"Don't worry," Ruby starts as Yang slowly gets up. "With each hit, she gets stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back. That's what makes her special," Ruby explains Yang's semblance as Yang gets back on her feet, her hair glowing brightly from the added power.

Roman's Paladin walks up to Yang as Yang clenches her left fist. Roman throws another right punch at her, but Yang blocks the attack with her arms, causing a shockwave that destroys the ground behind her. Roman growls as Yang lifts her head, growling and with her eyes now in their crimson red color. She yells while thrusting her left fist at the mech, obliterating its remaining arm. However, Roman retaliates by kicking Yang away with the mech's left leg, making her fly by in between Ruby and Blake.

"BUMBLEBEE!" Ruby calls out Yang and Blake's combo.

Blake changes her sword into its chain-scythe form and throws it at Yang. Yang catches it, twists her body in the air before landing on her feet, and starts running in a wide circle, firing her gauntlets to give her an extra push. Blake pulls her around, and Yang goes to strike Torchwick, but his mech jumps back to avoid her attack.

"Dammit!" Khazhak curses as Porphyrius jumps up next to him.

"We have to slow it down!" Ruby says as Weiss comes up.

"And HOW do you propose we do that?!" Weiss asks.

"…ICE FLOWER!" Ruby calls out her and Weiss' combo.

"HEAVY STORM!" Khazhak calls out his and Porphyrius' combo move.

Roman looks on as Ruby spins her scythe before stabbing the blade into the ground with the barrel aimed at him while Weiss conjures up some glyphs in front of her. Meanwhile, Porphyrius readies his semblance as does Khazhak when he charges up his sword. Ruby fires her rounds through Weiss' glyphs, turning them into ice rounds that explode into ice shards as they hit the Paladin, while Porphyrius fires his gravity shots, to which Khazhak infuses them with his lightning to give them more power, and they form static gravity weights when they hit the mech. The combined assault freezes the mech in place, rendering it immobile. Blake then spins Yang around again, her hair now on fire, and when Yang gets close, she slams her right into the mech, sending it flying. When it hits the ground, it breaks apart into many small pieces, leaving Roman Torchwick exposed as he rolls on the ground before getting back onto his feet.

"Just got this thing cleaned!" Roman says as he wipes off the dust on his sleeves.

He looks over to Yang and she fires a shot at him, but the shot gets blocked by a short girl using an umbrella as a shield. The girl, known as Neopolitan, or Neo for short, is a short, mute girl, with her hair half pink, half brown, and having white streaks in the pink half. She has heterochromia, with her left eye being pink and her right eye being brown. She is wearing a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants, and gray boots with very high heels. Under her jacket is a black corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips. She also has on multiple beaded necklaces, which hang haphazardly around her neck. Her umbrella is elaborately decorated in lace fabric with multiple colors, being mostly pink and white (in the middle) as well as red and brown (at the edges) and is somewhat translucent. Neo rests her umbrella on her right shoulder, smiling all the while at Teams RWBY and KEPL running up to them.

"Ladies, gentlemen, Ice Queen," Roman says, the last part aimed at Weiss.

"Hey!" Weiss retorts.

"Always a pleasure. Neo, if you would," Roman waves at them before turning to Neo.

Neo politely bows to the two teams. Yang and Lloyd ready their weapons and run at the two. But, as they strike them with Yang's left fist and Lloyd's right claw, Neo blocks the attack with her umbrella, and then she and Roman shatter like glass, escaping from harm. They both look up to their left to see Roman and Neo escaping in a bullhead airship, the side door closing as they get away. The rest of the two teams run up beside them.

"Damn! He got away again. I'm starting to get sick and tired of that," Khazhak voices his irritation.

"So I guess he got a new henchman," Yang notes.

"Yeah, I guess she really made our plans…fall apart," Weiss says, snickering at her attempt to make a pun.

However, Ruby just stares at her while Blake walks away, Lloyd and Reaper shake their heads, and Khazhak and Porphyrius facepalm.

"That was worse than Yang's puns, and I thought THAT was impossible," Khazhak mutters before he and his team walk away.

"No, just no," Yang criticizes Weiss' terrible pun.

"What-but you do it," Weiss retorts, hand on her hips.

"There's a time and a place for jokes," Yang explains, hands on her hips.

"Was this not it?" Weiss asks.

"No, it just wasn't very good," Yang replies before walking away.

"Well, at least I'm trying," Weiss says before following them.

"Wait…where are Sun and Neptune?" Ruby asks, noticing the two other boys still gone.

"Who knows? Probably stuffing their faces with noodles or something," Porphyrius says, making Lloyd snicker at his comment.

… _With Sun and Neptune…_

Sun and Neptune are then scene eating noodles at a little vendor, run by the old man from the dust shop, with their weapons placed against two empty seats, and the vendor sign reading "A Simple Wok Noodle House."

"They're probably fine, right?" Neptune asks Sun.

"Probably," Sun says and then they go back to eating their noodles.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Another long one, but I wanted to get the whole fight scene in. For the combo names for my team, I couldn't really think of anything that shows their colors, but I could use things that can relate to their abilities, so that's what I used. A few secrets have been revealed today, but many more await our heroes. What awaits them throughout the rest of this semester? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	31. Chapter 26: Heavy Burden

**Here we are at Chapter 26. A quick thank you to those who have been following this story. I really want to know what people think of my OC team. Anyway, let's get on with the show. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's Chapter 26. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 26: Heavy Burden**

 _…A few days since the investigation…_

After the exciting night the two teams of RWBY and KEPL had during their investigation, the eight students have returned to their semi-normal student lives, while still looking into Roman Torchwick and the White Fang. There was just one small issue: one of them was investigating WAY more than was necessary. Blake. And to be honest, her behavior was starting to annoy Team KEPL, particularly Khazhak, all over again. However, Ruby had asked him to let her team handle it for now, and he decided to respect her wish.

 _…In Professor Goodwitch's class…_

For now, the members of Team KEPL decide to focus on what's in front of them, mainly being the next set of sparring matches in Professor Goodwitch's class. The Professor said that over the next few weeks, the sparring matches would go towards qualifying for the Vytal Festival tournament coming up in a few months. Along with them are Teams RWBY, JNPR, and a few other teams. Professor Goodwitch stands in the center of the arena.

"Alright, let's get today's sparring matches under way. Let's see…" she trails off as she types some names in on her scroll. "The first match will be Lie Ren vs…Porphyrius Darkwing," she announces.

Lie Ren glances at Porphyrius, who glances back with his one eye before he stands up to retrieve his weapon. A few minutes later, Ren and Porphyrius enter the arena, weapons at the ready, as they stand a small distance from one another.

"Let's fight well, Porphyrius, Ren says as he bows to him before taking a stance with his pistols.

Porphyrius just cracks his neck before aiming his rifles at Ren.

"3…2…1…Begin!" Goodwitch yells.

Porphyrius fires off his rifles, forcing Ren to jump back and run along the arena to evade the bullets being fired at his skull. He counters by firing off his pistols, making Porphyrius run parallel to his movements, making the two fighters run in a circle as they dodge each other's bullets. At one point, Porphyirus changes course and charges straight at Ren while evading incoming fire. Ren stops and keeps firing off his weapons, but feels that that won't stop Porphyrius from getting close to him. When Porphyrius does get close enough, he jumps up, swinging his arm blades around at Ren. Ren backflips away to evade the attack, but then Porphyrius starts thrusting his blades at him. Ren uses the blades on his pistols to parry each strike, but finds himself being pushed back. At one point, Porphyrius pulls back both blades and then thrusts both of them at the same time. Ren swings his pistols wide, catching Porphyrius' blades in his own. The two are essentially locked in place, but then Ren throws a front kick at Porphyrius that gets blocked by Porphyrius' left knee. With the two standing on one leg while the rest of their limbs are deadlocked. However, Porphyrius head-butts Ren in the face, and then backflip kicks him away, simultaneously freeing his blades from Ren's grasp.

"Come on Ren, break his legs!" Nora cheers for her partner from the stands.

"Kick his butt, Porphyrius!" Lloyd cheers his partner on.

"…You'll have to do better than that if you want to beat me, Ren," Porphyrius notes.

Ren wipes his face with his right sleeve before taking his stance again. The two run at each other, this time without firing off their weapons. When they get close, Porphyrius swings his left blade that Ren ducks under, and uses the momentum to swing his right blade at him. Ren hook kicks the blade away and then counters with a downward swing of both his blades. Porphyrius blocks with his left blade, and then swings his right blade at Ren, forcing him to flip back to avoid it. Ren jumps up and twirls in the air before performing a downward kick on his opponent. Porphyrius rolls out of the way and then does a roundhouse kick that Ren leans back from to evade it. Ren makes aims his left pistol at Porphyrius to fire at him. However, Porphyrius parries it with his right arm blade, and both weapons fire off with the bullets flying right near their heads. They end up doing the same thing with their other weapons, once more locking them in. Only this time, Porphyrius ejects the arm rifle off his right arm, and punches Ren in the face before he kicks him away. Porphyrius then fires off a few shots aimed at Ren's feet that hit their mark, knocking Ren off balance. With the chance presenting itself, Porphyrius activates his semblance as purple circles appear around his arm rifles.

"Dark Void Anchor!" Porphyrius yells as he fires off a few gravity shots at Ren.

Ren moves around to dodge most of them, but two nail him, one on his right arm, the other on his left knee. The gravity weights take effect, forcing him down on one knee. Porphyrius fires off two more shots that hit his remaining limbs, forcing Ren onto the ground. Ren struggles to get up, but fails and looks up to see the barrel of Porphyrius' right arm rifle aimed at his skull.

"…Yield," Porphyrius demands.

Ren sighs, seeing no way out of this, "I admit defeat," he concedes.

Porphyrius deactivates his semblance, freeing Ren and allowing him to stand back up as he holsters his pistols in his sleeves.

Professor Goodwitch walks up to them, "And that's the match. Porphyrius Darkwing is the victor. Well done Mr. Darkwing. You were able to defeat your opponent without reducing their aura to the red zone. That takes some great skill," Goodwitch notes.

"Whatever," Porphyrius mutters and walks away to the locker room.

In the locker room, Porphyrius goes over his weapon, making sure there isn't any damage that needs to be fixed. After giving it a good look for a few minutes, Porphyrius is satisfied that his weapon didn't receive any damage during his fight with Ren, and puts it away in his locker.

"Hey Porphyrius," he hears behind him and looks back to see Yang walking in.

"What's up Yang," he greets her as he turns his head away.

"Just wanted to say that that was a pretty good fight. For a moment there, I thought Ren had you when he locked your blades in his," Yang says as she walks up to him.

Porphyrius grunts, "Hmpf. No offense to Ren, but it'll take a lot more than that to take me down," he says.

Yang chuckles, but then her eyes downcast for a moment, "Hey, Porphyrius, about what Khazhak told us last semester, about what happened to you. Do you…do you ever miss them? You're wings, I mean," Yang hesitantly asks.

Porphyrius glances back at her, "You would ask me THAT instead of asking whether or not I miss my parents?" He asks, slightly annoyed.

"I don't have to ask you that. I know that you miss them. I mean, I miss mine after all," Yang replies as she looks away, a little sad. This makes Porphyrius fully turn to face her, his annoyance gone at realizing what she meant. "I'm not going to ask you about that. I know it's not a comfortable subject for you. I haven't even told my teammates, aside from Ruby, about my parents yet. Family is a touchy subject for us, for a lot of people basically," Yang says.

"…Sometimes I miss them. My wings. I never got to fly with them. To see what it would be like to soar in the skies. I guess that's partially why my semblance is the way it is," Porphyrius says.

"They say that our semblances come from our personalities. Gravity essentially weighs everything down. Is…Is there something weighing you down, Porphyrius?" Yang asks.

Porphyrius turns away again, his right hand going to his eyepatch, "…I don't know. Khazhak has always told me not to let my anger get the better of me, though I don't always listen. Maybe that's the reason. Either way, it makes no difference. I can still use my semblance, and that's all that matter," he says. _"Even in this state."_

His eye suddenly widens when he feels a pair of arms wrap around him from behind, and glances back to see Yang hugging him.

"Whatever kind of burden you have, you don't have to shoulder it by yourself, Porphyrius. You have your teammates, your friends, here to help you carry that weight, okay?" Yang says.

"U-um, thank you, Y-Yang," Porphyrius stutters, to his surprise again, as his face turns a slight shade of red.

"Did losing your wings…leave any scars?" Yang slowly asks, not wanting to push beyond any boundaries of privacy.

"…Yeah…It did," Porphyrius says as he calms down.

"Would it…would it be okay if I could look at them? Just for a quick moment, though," Yang asks.

In his head, Porphyrius wanted to say no. To have Yang let go of him so he could leave and be done with this conversation. And yet, somewhere inside him, he didn't want this conversation to end just yet. Strangely enough, he felt…better when Yang is around.

"I…I guess a quick peek would be alright," he says, his blush returning.

Yang lets him go and Porphyrius slowly pulls up his shirt to reveal the two large scars on his back where his wings once were. Yang silently gasps at seeing them, and can't even imagine what kind of pain Porphyrius went through when his wings were ripped off. She slowly raises her right hand and cautiously brushes her finger tips along the scars, making Porphyrius flinch for a moment.

"I'm sorry, did that hurt?" Yang quickly asks, worried she did something wrong.

"No…The pain stopped a long time ago. It's just…I've never let anyone touch my scars before. Not even my teammates. You're the first person that I ever let do that," Porphyrius says.

Yang appears a little surprised at that, but also feels a little glad that Porphyrius trusts her enough to let her touch his scars. She removes her hand and Porphyrius pulls down his shirt.

"Well, thanks for saying that I guess," Yang says, showing a soft smile.

"Yeah, well, I better get going," Porphyrius says as he starts to walk away.

"Oh, um, are you going to the dance coming up?" Yang quickly asks Porphyrius.

"Probably not," Porphyrius says before leaving the locker room, making Yang groan and hunch her shoulders. As Porphyrius makes his way back to the stands, he bumps into Lloyd, who has a huge smirk on his face. "What?" Porphyrius asks accusingly.

"Porphyrius and Yang, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-OW!" Lloyd yells when Porphyrius punches him, sending him flying.

"Say one word about that to Khazhak, and I'll dye your hair and your armor pink in your sleep," Porphyrius warns him before walking away.

Lloyd rubs his jaw, "Geez, am I the only one on this team that can take a joke?" he mutters.

The rest of the combat class goes off with a few more matches, though nothing particularly significant, other than maybe Khazhak taking down Weiss in quick fashion, putting another name on his list as his undefeated streak at Beacon continues to rise. After the class ends, the three teams, minus Blake, head to the cafeteria for lunch.

 _…In the school cafeteria…_

"Did you have to hit me so hard with that last strike?!" Weiss asks Khazhak, still a little angry that he beat her.

"It was a fight. Not my problem if you can't take a punch. We ARE training to be warriors after all. You're gonna get beat up from time to time," Khazhak casually replies while eating a sandwich.

"Yeah, well from where I'm standing, you've been beating up everyone that gets into that arena with you. That's like, what, 14 wins in a row now and 0 losses?" Yang asks.

"18 actually," Khazhak corrects her while sipping his tea. "I'm not even counting the little sparring match I had with Pyrrha since we never got to finish that fight due to Team CRDL sticking their noses where it don't belong again," he says.

"Wait, when did that happen? Pyrrha, who won that fight?" Yang asks.

"Like Khazhak said, we never got to finish it. I'd say it was pretty even throughout the most of the fight, though he did get a few hits on me," Pyrrha replies.

 _"I wouldn't exactly call it even when I haven't gone all out yet,"_ Khazhak thinks as he glances at her.

"Are you kidding? Even Pyrrha couldn't take him down? Geez, does that mean you've beaten every first year in the school?" Jaune asks.

"Almost all of them. Aside from some of the exchange students, there are still a few left that I haven't faced yet," Khazhak says as he glances at Yang.

Yang catches this and smirks, "Oh don't worry. I'll be sure to give you one heck of a fight when we get the chance," she challenges him.

Khazhak grunts in mild amusement, "We'll see about that. Anyway, on to more important issues, like where the Hell is Blake?" he asks.

"Probably at the library. She's been there a lot more than usual lately," Weiss says.

"Yeah, what's up with that? She's been really busy lately, but in all honesty, it's starting to make us concerned. Is everything alright?" Pyrrha asks, showing some concern.

"Um, yeah, everything's fine. She's just under some stress because of classes. Trying to study a lot so she'll do great on the next exams. It's okay," Ruby plays it off so they wouldn't know about the secret investigation between RWBY and KEPL.

"I see, well just make sure she doesn't overwork herself. Too much studying and not enough time to rest and recuperate can have a detrimental effect on a person," Ren says.

"Y-yeah, we'll make sure to tell her that," Yang says, while Khazhak glances at the rest of his teammates in a silent conversation.

 _…Later, in Team RWBY'S dorm…_

"This is starting to get ridiculous. I thought the way Blake was acting before our investigation was bad, but this is much worse," Weiss notes as she sits on her bed.

"No kidding. She'll drain herself out completely if she keeps going at this rate. And if a serious fight happens around that time, then she won't stand a chance," Yang adds.

"I wish there was something we could do to make her see that what she is doing isn't healthy," Ruby worries.

"We'll figure something out Ruby," Yang says, but then they hear a knock at the door. Yang walks to it and opens it up to find Professor Goodwitch standing in the hallway.

"Um, Professor Goodwitch, what are you doing here?" Yang asks as Ruby and Weiss join her.

"Good evening ladies. Are you aware that the second year team, Team CFVY is in charge of preparing the school dance that's coming up?" Goodwitch asks.

"Um, yeah, what about them?" Weiss asks.

"Well, currently they are out on a mission right now. However, things over thee seem to be more hectic than we first anticipated," Goodwitch says.

"Wait, are they okay?" Ruby asks.

"Don't worry, they're a skilled team, with more experience than the first years. However, it seems that they will be away for longer than we first surmised. Since they won't be coming back in time for the school dance, nor will they be able to finish preparing for it, Professor Ozpin and I have decided that we need someone else to make the school dance possible this year. Which is why I am here to ask you if you would be willing to finish preparations for the school dance in their place?" Goodwitch asks.

Weiss and Yang quickly beam at this, "Y-Yes, we'd be happy to finish it for them. You can leave it to us," Weiss says, while Yang nods frantically in agreement.

"Excellent, just be sure to have it ready in time for the scheduled date. Professor Ozpin and I have already informed Team CFVY about this change in plans and while upset that they won't be making it back in time, they have agreed to let someone else takes the reigns of this little assignment. We will provide you with more details tomorrow morning. Also, feel free to ask for any additional aid in preparing the dance if you deem it necessary. Have a good evening, ladies," Goodwitch says before taking her leave.

Yang closes the door and squeals, "Oh my god. We get to plan out the dance. This is going to be awesome!" she cheers.

"All the planning and preparation I could think of. With me at the helm, this dance will be absolutely flawless," Weiss says.

"Blah, blah, blah, who cares about all the boring stuff? What matters is that we're in charge of the dance now. This is going to be the best dance ever," Yang says.

"Quiet you! No way am I going to let you handle all of the preparations for this event. Right Ruby?" Weiss asks as they look to their leader…who is already back on her bed, reading a comic book.

"Yeah, fun dance stuff. Woohoo," Ruby dryly says, not into the whole formal dance shindig.

"Hold on, we're still going to need a little extra muscle for this. And I know just who to talk to," Yang says as she leaves the room, leaving her teammates a little confused.

 _…In Team KEPL's room…_

"So, how deep a hole is Blake digging herself right now?" Reaper asks.

"Deep, and getting deeper with that shovel known as Blake's stupidity. She doesn't realize how big of a mistake she's making. Wouldn't you agree…Lloyd," Khazhak says as he looks from the window to his teammate laying on his bunk.

Lloyd sighs, "Yeah…You got that right," he replies.

Just then, they hear a knock at the door and Reaper opens up the door to find Yang on the other side.

"Good evening Yang, can I help you with something?" Reaper greets her.

"Actually yes, I was wondering if you guys could help me with a little something," she says, smiling.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Team KEPL's patience with Blake is wearing thin, particularly with Khazhak and Lloyd. A slight change in plans for the dance. What awaits our teams in the near future? Can they help Blake realize her mistake? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	32. Chapter 27: Extracurricular

**Here we are at Chapter 27. Time for a little fun as Khazhak continues to prove why he's undefeated at Beacon. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 27. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Extracurricular**

 _…A week later, in Goodwitch's class…_

In Goodwitch's class, everyone watches as Pyrrha fights in the arena, against all four members of Team CRDL. Guess they STILL haven't learned.

Pyrrha is suddenly seen sprinting at Cardin Winchester with a right slash of her sword, to which he barely blocks with his mace, before she attacks again with a left slash. A moment later, she is seen performing a low strike at Dove Bronzewing's feet before retracting her blade in a defensive slash against his sword. Another moment later, Pyrrha blocks a strike from Sky Lark's halberd and Russel Thrush's twin short swords before she attacks Russel, knocking him to the ground and then attacking Sky again. After that, she starts running towards Cardin, turning her sword into its javelin form and having her shield on her back. When she gets close, Pyrrha strikes at his legs, but he blocks with his mace and then counters with right swing to which she turns her body so the shield on her back blocks the attack. She then makes an upwards swing, which Cardin blocks again, and then makes another strike that he blocks but gets pushed back by before she zooms past him, dealing a strike that forces him onto his right knee. Cardin looks forward, but then quickly looks up above him to see Pyrrha diving at him with her weapon in its sword form, ready to impale him. He rolls out of the way, and then Pyrrha jumps up, spinning her weapon back into a javelin before firing it at Dove, which he blocks with his sword. Pyrrha quickly rolls on the ground and does a leg sweep that knocks Dove off his feet while simultaneously reaching back for her weapon that gets pulled back into her hand thanks to a small amount of her semblance, polarity. She turns her weapon into its rifle form, firing a shot at Sky Lark, who deflects the shot before attacking her with a right swing of his halberd, but she blocks with her shield. Turning her weapon back into javelin form, Pyrrha spins her body and strikes at Sky with a downward swing, which gets blocked, before spinning her javelin a few times at him, and he blocks again.

Pyrrha then makes an upward swing at him, but it gets deflected, before she fires her weapon in rifle form at him and then turns it back into a sword, making a spin strike at him before she shoots it in javelin form at him again, which sends him flying by Cardin off his feet. Cardin then looks to Pyrrha, who already attacks two times at him, but he blocks her strikes before making a counterattack, to which she blocks with her shield. Cardin reels back his mace and swings it downwards, but Pyrrha side flips out of the way, and the mace hits the ground in a fiery explosion. Cardin spins his body and performs a right swing with his mace at her, but Pyrrha blocks the attack with her shield, but she slides back from the attack. Pyrrha then looks to her left to see Sky Lark spinning his body along with his halberd before he attacks her with a downward swing. Pyrrha evade by jumping backwards into the air, but while in mid-air, she notices Cardin making a swing at her. Pyrrha blocks the strike in mid-air with her shield before using the momentum of the hit to spin her body in the air and then onto the ground, making a leg sweep attack that knocks Sky off his feet. She spins on the ground before pushing off her arms to avoid Cardin punching her, and left fist hits the ground. She then quickly runs at Cardin, jumping and rolling along his back and then jumping off it before she throws her shield at him. The thrown shield hits Cardin back and then rebounds off of him to fly over Pyrrha and hit Sky in the face, making him hit the ground and then roll onto his front side while Pyrrha jumps into the air, grabbing her shield, and then landing her feet on his back, which knocks him out for the rest of the fight.

Pyrrha looks up to see Cardin, and Dove get back on their feet while Russel runs at her. However, Pyrrha moves faster and slams her shield against Russel, which sends him flying backwards. She then spins her body before swinging her sword at Dove when he attacks her. Next, Pyrrha makes another spinning slash, to which Dove blocks, and then does an upward slash at him, and then does a reverse spin before she kicks him back. Dove does a backflip and then lands on his feet while Cardin runs by him towards Pyrrha. Cardin jumps into the air, his mace pulled back in both hands, and then smashes it into the ground as Pyrrha jumps back to avoid the hit before performing a backflip while turning her weapon into its rifle form. She lands and fires three shots at Cardin. However, Russel jumps in front of him as Dove rolls out of the way, and deflects the shots with his twin shortswords. Dove and then Russel run at Pyrrha, and Russel jumps and starts spinning in the air like a buzzsaw before he double kicks Pyrrha in slow motion, to which she blocks with her shield but stumbles back. As time becomes normal, Russel does a downward slash with his left blade, but Pyrrha blocks with her shield, while Dove spins his body and takes a stab at her. Pyrrha blocks this attack with her sword, but then Russel performs a spinning slash and then a left stab that both get blocked by her shield. Russel then ducks as Dove does a left slash before jumping up, attacking again but gets blocked, as Dove does a front flip before and then a downward slash. The two then get on Pyrrha's sides and Dove attacks her left, but gets blocked by her shield and passes her, while Russel backflips away.

Pyrrha looks left to see Cardin coming at her with another right swing of his mace, but Pyrrha rolls under and past him. Turning her weapon into rifle form, Pyrrha fires two shots at him, but Cardin spins his mace to deflect the attack before he runs at Pyrrha again. As he gets close, Cardin spins his body for another strike, but turns around only to get a knee to the face by Pyrrha, Spinning his body from the attack, Cardin swings his mace at Pyrrha again, but Pyrrha blocks it with her shield before immediately countering him with a swift strike of her sword that he barely blocks. Pyrrha then blocks another swing of his mace before spinning her body and side kicking him back. Cardin stumbles back before doing a downward swing, which Pyrrha blocks with her shield, then Pyrrha strikes three times at him, but he deflects them with his mace. Pyrrha makes two more strikes that hit Cardin, making him stumble back farther and twist his body as he makes another swing at her, but she ducks under it. Pyrrha attacks next, but Cardin blocks the attack, and then Pyrrha strikes again, also getting blocked. Pyrrha spins her body while holding her sword behind her to block another strike, and then slashes at Cardin's exposed back, before making an upward slash at his mace and then a downward slash that hits him. Cardin stumbles back as Russel runs under him to attack Pyrrha. He makes to stab attacks at her, but she evades them both and then swings another slash of his right shortsword at her, but she dodges that attack as well. Pyrrha then spins her sword around her neck as it turns into its javelin form. Russel throws his right shortsword at her, but she evades the attack before throwing her shield at him. The shield hits him in the face and then Pyrrha makes a wide swing that hits him again, knocking him to the ground and out of the fight.

Pyrrha then thrusts her javelin at Dove who blocks the attack, and then stabs at him only to get blocked again. As Pyrrha pulls back, she grabs her shield and then runs at Dove. Dove turns around and, with the small gun mechanism in the hilt of his sword, fires three shots at Pyrrha, but Pyrrha blocks them with her shield as she runs at him. Pyrrha then rolls towards him to evade another shot, and then swings upwards at him, but he dodges the attack. Pyrrha makes a horizontal slash at him, but he jumps and spins over the attack before landing back a few feet away from her and next to Cardin. When Cardin gets back up, he swings his mace back, which accidently hits Dove in the face, knocking him back and out of the fight, while Cardin smashes his mace into the ground, causing an explosion at Pyrrha. Pyrrha backflips out of the way before spinning her body before slashing at him again, to which he blocks with his mace, and then makes another slash that hits him back. Pyrrha then zooms to Cardin's front before slashing upwards that sends Cardin into the air. Pyrrha jumps into the air after him, makes three slashes with the third pushing him backwards in mid-air. Pyrrha then puts her shield behind her and pushes off of it to send her towards Cardin. When she gets close, Pyrrha grabs Cardin and twists around him until she has her javelin around his neck with her set behind him. She then spins the both of them in the air until they get close to the ground and slams him onto the floor, hard. She then backflip kicks him into the air before they both land back on the ground, with Pyrrha on her feet and Cardin on his head. Pyrrha ceremoniously grabs her shield as it falls down to her and she gets back into her fighting stance as Cardin holds his chest while barely on his knees, signaling the end of the match with Pyrrha Nikos as the victor.

The lights in the arena come on as Glynda walks up to them.

"And that's the match," Goodwitch says as she walks up next to Cardin.

"Lucky shot," Cardin weakly says before falling back onto the ground.

"Well done, Miss Nikos. You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament," Glynda praises her.

"Thank you Professor," Pyrrha replies.

"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?" Glynda asks, checking her scroll before looking up to the stands with the other students in them. Various students are seen, including Teams RWBY, JNPR, and KEPL, as well as Mercury and Emerald. Goodwitch looks to Blake. "Miss Belladonna?" she gestures, making Blake jump up and close her book. "You've been rather docile for the last few classes. Why don't you-," she begins.

"I'll do it," Mercury interrupts, raising his hand.

Goodwitch adjusts her glasses, "Mercury, is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent," Goodwitch says, working on her scroll.

"Actually, I wanna fight…HER," Mercury points at Pyrrha.

"Me?" Pyrrha asks surprised.

"I'm afraid Miss Nikos has just finished a match. I recommend you choose another partner," Goodwitch explains.

"No, it's fine," Pyrrha stops her. "I'd be-," she begins.

Suddenly, Khazhak throws one of his swords that stabs the ground in front of them, shocking them at the action. Everyone looks at Khazhak as he gets up and slowly walks down the steps in the stands until he reaches the edge.

"Mr. Rairyu! What are you doing?!" Goodwitch shouts.

"My apologies Professor Goodwitch. But Pyrrha, you're not fighting him," Khazhak says before looking at Mercury. "Sorry pretty boy, but…I'M your dance partner today," Khazhak exclaims, eyes narrowing at Mercury.

 _"That boy sure does know how to make things interesting, as well as making more headaches for me,"_ Goodwitch thinks to herself while shaking her head. "As long as Mercury and Miss Nikos do not have a problem with it, I'll allow it."

"Um, sure, I don't mind," Pyrrha says.

"Fine by me," Mercury says, smirking at Khazhak.

A few minutes later, Mercury is walking out into the arena, eyeing Khazhak who already got out there before him with his swords on his belt, all the while smiling at him. Mercury takes a fighting stance, but Khazhak just crosses his arms.

"Aren't you gonna take out your swords already?" Mercury inquires.

"You wanna face my blades? Prove to me you're worthy of facing them. Mercury Black. Prepare to be judged," Khazhak replies.

Ruby watches on, having a hard time staying still in her seat while Emerald just raises her eyebrow at her before returning to the match. Mercury waits for a moment before running at Khazhak. When he gets close, Mercury spins his body around and then thrusts his right foot at him. However, Khazhak grabs the thrusted leg, pulling it around him and then throwing a hard right punch at Mercury, knocking him to the ground. Mercury spins his legs in the air, using the momentum of the action and his hands to jump back to his feet before doing two backflips to get some distance between them.

"What do you wear, size eight? Bring it, happy feet," Khazhak taunts him.

Khazhak then runs at Mercury, throwing a left punch at him, to which Mercury deflects with a spin kick with his left leg, and then Khazhak throws a right cross that gets blocked by Mercury throwing a right kick. Mercury performs a left kick at Khazhak, but he blocks it with his right gauntlet. Mercury then makes two kicks with the same leg at different angles, but Khazhak blocks them by straightening out his arm for the first strike and the bending it for the second. Khazhak then throws a left cross to deflect a third kick and then shoulder tackles Mercury, causing him to slide back on his feet, sparks emitting from his metal boots sliding against the ground. Mercury then hums in a manner that says "not bad."

"You'll have to do better than that, fancy feet," Khazhak taunts him again.

"Hey, your friend's doing pretty good, heh-heh," Ruby says to Emerald smiling behind her before she looks back at Khazhak, not noticing Emerald changing her expression to one of mild annoyance. _"But Khazhak can't be beat that easily."_

Mercury then jumps, spinning his body in the air as he throws a right downward kick, which Khazhak blocks with his gauntlets in a cross position, before landing on the ground, and then spinning again to try and leg sweep Khazhak. Khazhak quickly steps back to avoid this and then blocks a left spin kick with his left gauntlet, and then blocks a third spin kick with both gauntlets that forces him to slide back on his feet. Mercury runs and then jumps into the air in front of him, doing three front kicks that he blocks with his gauntlets. Mercury then throws a left kick, then a right kick, and back to a left kick, all of which Khazhak blocks with the respective gauntlets. In slow motion, Mercury throws another right kick, but Khazhak blocks with his right gauntlet again, before wrapping his right arm around Mercury's leg, grabbing it with his left arm, spinning his body, and then throwing Mercury away from him in normal motion. Mercury lands on his feet, and looks up to see Khazhak throw his own right kick at him, but Mercury blocks it by spinning his left leg at it. Mercury hums before making another spin kick, but Khazhak evades by moving his head back and then punches Mercury in the torso, which pushes Mercury back. Mercury hums to himself again before he looks back at Khazhak as he runs at him, right fist cocked back. Mercury calmly turns to Goodwitch.

"I forfeit," he submits.

Khazhak, seeing this, manages to stop his fist just before it contacts Mercury's smirking face.

"You got a death wish or something? Or are you afraid to keep fighting me?" Khazhak rhetorically asks.

"What's the point? You've obviously got loads of combat experience. We're obviously leagues apart," Mercury says, hands in the air.

However, Khazhak just crosses his arms with a scowl on his face, not buying it.

 _"Yeah right. You were obviously holding back in our fight just so you can gauge my abilities. Which is why I held back so I could gauge yours,"_ Khazhak mentally notes to himself.

"In that case, Khazhak Rairyu is the victor of the match," Goodwitch announces while Mercury and Emerald smirk at Khazhak while he just scowls at Mercury. "Next time, you may want to think a little harder before choosing an opponent," she advises Mercury.

"I'll be sure to do that," Mercury says before walking away, hand on his hips.

After that, the bell rings for the end of class, making Blake bolt up, showing the dark shadows under her eyes, and signaling her lack of sleep.

"That is all for today. And remember, the dance is this weekend, but you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept ANY excuses," Goodwitch informs them.

Blake follows her teammates as they leave the stands, with the members of Team KEPL shortly behind them. Emerald is leaning against a wall, watching the two teams walk by, until Mercury walks up to her.

"Learning is so much fun," he jokingly whispers, another smirk on his face.

As the two teams leave the amphitheater, Sun is talking to his team until he notices Blake walk by and runs to her.

'Hey, Blake, you uh, doing okay?" Sun asks, grabbing her shoulder to get her attention.

"I'm fine," she says, turning to him.

Sun coughs into his arm, "So, I hear there's this dance going on this weekend. Ah, psst, sounds pretty lame, but you and me, I'm thinking not as lame, huh?" he says, giving her a hint.

"What?" Blake asks.

'The dance, this weekend! Do you wanna go, or what?" he asks her.

"I don't have time for a stupid dance. I thought YOU of all people would get that, "she harshly rejects him, making him slump in defeat, while she walks away.

Ruby sadly looks at her before turning to see Sun with his head hung down in sadness.

Lloyd sees this as well, _"When will she finally listen to brother's advice and stop being an idiot. Now, she's making the same mistakes…that I once made,"_ Lloyd mentally says.

… _Later that night, in Team RWBY's room…_

"You WHAT?! Blake shouts as she sits on her bed with Yang while Ruby and Weiss sit on Weiss' bed across from them.

"We want you to go to the dance," Ruby says.

"That's ridiculous!" Blake replies, arms crossed.

"Blake, we're worried about you. This investigation is starting to mess with your head," Yang points out.

"You can't sleep, you hardly eat, and to be honest, your grades have been suffering," Weiss lists on her hand.

"You think I care about grades? Peoples' lives are at stake," Blake retorts.

Yang puts Blake's right hand down, "We know, and we're all still trying to figure out what Torchwick is up to," Yang says.

"Thanks to you and Sun, we know they're operating somewhere outside of southeast Vale," Ruby says.

Weiss raises a finger, "AND, the Schnee Company records singled out Vale as the primary target for dust robberies over the last few months," Weiss adds.

"Don't forget about their missing military tech, too," Yang says.

"But there are still unanswered questions," Blake says, still not listening.

"Blake, you won't be able to find anything if you can't even keep your eyes open," Ruby points out Blake's lack of sleep.

"All we're asking is that you take it easy for ONE day," Yang says.

"It will be fun! Yang and I will make sure of it," Weiss says.

Yang bounces on the bed, "Yeah, we're planning the whole event," Yang happily replies.

"Excuse me?" Blake questions them.

"Team CFVY's away mission lasted longer than expected," Weiss informs her.

"So Weiss and I were asked to pick up where they left off, and we managed to get Reaper and Lloyd to help out too. That way, we can make sure you have the perfect night," Yang says, pointing at Blake.

"And once it's all over, we'll return to our search, rested and ready," Weiss says.

"So what do you think?" Ruby asks Blake.

Blake thinks for a moment, "…I think this is a COLOSSAL waste of time," she rejects their idea and gets up to leave the room. "I'll be in the library," she says and leaves the room.

Yang sighs, "Great," Yang voices her displeasure.

"She CAN'T keep going like this," Weiss says.

They then hear a knock at the door a moment later. Weiss walks up to the door and opens it to reveal Jaune standing in the hallway, with an acoustic guitar in hand. He starts playing it to the shock and confusion of the three girls in the room.

"Weiss~~," Jaune sings her name while playing the guitar, rather poorly. Jaune winks at her, but Weiss closes the door in his face and crosses her arms, an irritated look on her face. Jaune knocks on the door again. "Oh come on," he says, which makes Weiss rest her face in her left hand as he knocks again. "Open the door. I promise not to sing," he pleads. Weiss decides to open the door again, and Jaune goes back on his promise. "I lied~~!" he poorly sings again, and she facepalms. "Weiss Schnee~. Will you accompany me~. To the dance on Sunday~?" he sings, still playing the guitar, until a sword gets thrown at his left. "Ow! He yelps as he hits the ground.

Weiss and Jaune look to see Khazhak walking over to them and picking up both his sword and Jaune's guitar.

"I'm confiscating this. That was beyond horrible," Khazhak says and then walks back to his dorm room down the hall.

"Hey! Why do you have to take my guitar?!" Jaune asks, reaching for his guitar in vain.

"So you don't commit guitar homicide!" Khazhak answers and returns to his room.

Jaune then looks back to Weiss, "So will you go with me to the dance?" he hopefully asks.

"Are you done?" Weiss asks.

Jaune hesitates for a moment, "Yes?" he says, more of a question though.

"No," Weiss rejects him before slamming the door in his face and cross her arms, eyes closed before she opens them at Ruby and Yang. "What?!" she asks.

"And THAT is why they call you the 'Ice Queen," Yang says, while Ruby looks at her, then herself and falls to the floor after losing her balance.

"All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name. Besides, I already have a date in mind," Weiss says.

Ruby gets back on her feet, "Date or no date, none of this will matter if we can't get Blake to go," Ruby says.

… _A little later…_

On one of the dorm rooftops, Jaune clashes his blade against Pyrrha's in one of their training sessions. He makes four more strikes at her, to which she blocks, until he begins to push her back on the fourth clash. However, Pyrrha looks down and smiles before ducking, using her shield on her back to block his sword while she leg sweeps him off his feet.

Pyrrha laughs, "Well done," she says and offers him a hand, which he takes and gets back on his feet. "Your swordplay's improved immensely."

"Couldn't have done it without ya," Jaune replies, dusting himself off.

"So…are you ready to move on to aura?" she asks.

Jaune rubs the back of his head, "I'm actually thinking maybe we just skip aura tonight. Might go on a jog or something," he says.

"Come on…I know you get frustrated, but you must keep trying. I'm sure we'll discover your semblance any day now," Pyrrha encourages him.

'That's…not it. It's just…it's dumb," Jaune says, feeling a little down.

"What is it?" she asks before walking up to him and placing a supportive hand on his shoulder. "Jaune, you know you can tell me."

"…It's Weiss," he admits, lowering his head.

"Oh," she says, lowering her arm and losing her smile before putting a fake one on. "What about her?" she asks.

"I asked her to the dance and she shot me down. Heh, big surprise right, heh-heh" Jaune replies.

"Well, I believe the saying goes, 'there's plenty of fish in the sea," she says, trying to be supportive. _"Like the one right in front of you right now."_

"That's easy for you to say, you've probably got guys clamoring over each other just to ask you out," Jaune says, missing her hint.

Pyrrha nervously chuckles, "You'd be surprised," she replies.

"Oh please, if you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress, heh," Jaune says before walking away, not noticing the sad look on Pyrrha's face.

A moment later, she hears a voice, "He may have improved his fighting skills, at least a LITTLE bit, but he's still as dumb as a doorknob."

Pyrrha looks to her right to see Khazhak leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Khazhak? What are you doing here?" she asks, surprised that she never noticed him before.

"I'd thought I'd see how Jaune's training is progressing. And if you ask me, he still has a long way to go, but we all gotta start somewhere," he says before pushing off the wall and walking to her. "So, he still hasn't figured it out yet?" he asks.

"Figured out what?" Pyrrha says, trying to act normal.

"Figured out that you're totally crushing on him and that you want to go to the dance with him," he replies, shocking Pyrrha.

"I-I-I don't know what you-re t-talking about?" Pyrrha nervously stutters.

"Oh please, I may not have a lot of romantic experience Pyrrha, but I'm sure as Hell not blind, unlike a certain blonde-haired idiot we both know," Khazhak bluntly replies.

Pyrrha sighs, knowing she can't get past Khazhak, "I just…I just wish he would notice that about me, and not try to keep hitting on Weiss. But as much as I'm uncomfortable with it, I have to be supportive for him. So if he wants to go with Weiss, then I won't stop him," Pyrrha says.

"Okay, one: you and I both know that Weiss would rather go to the dance with a Beowolf than with Jaune. And two: sometimes you're WAY too nice for your own good," Khazhak says, making Pyrrha chuckle a little bit. "I'm not gonna tell you what to do with this, but I suggest you talk to him sometime soon and let him know at least a little bit about your feelings. Maybe then, he'll finally start to notice," Khazhak says before turning to walk away. "Think about it. Have a goodnight, Pyrrha," he says while leaving the roof, leaving Pyrrha to think on his words.

As Khazhak is walking back to his room, Professor Ozpin shows up.

"I see you're keeping yourself busy with acting as a mentor of sorts to some of the other students here," Ozpin playfully says before taking a sip of his coffee mug.

"You heard that whole conversation, didn't you?" Khazhak asks, already knowing the answer.

"Maybe, but on to more important matters. Do you and your teammates plan on attending the dance?" Ozpin asks.

"Reaper and Lloyd are helping Weiss and Yang with getting everything ready for the dance, but other than that, no. We don't really do formal events, as I'm sure you're aware of," Khazhak replies.

"Khazhak, before coming here, you and your comrades have been moving from one battlefield to the next. Don't you think the four of you deserve some rest?" he asks.

"If the others want to go, then they may. I won't stop them. I just don't see the appeal of these formal events," Khazhak says, crossing his arms.

"You really should give it a try. Besides, I'm sure you wouldn't mind seeing Miss Rose in a beautiful dress at the dance. Even have the chance to dance with her," Ozpin says almost teasingly, making Khazhak gain a blush on his face.

"…I don't know what you're talking about," Khazhak says, looking away to hide his blush.

Ozpin just smirks at him, "Instead of giving advice, why don't you take some for yourself. Go to the dance, enjoy yourself, and learn to enjoy the little things in life. Life does not have to revolve around the battlefield, you know," Ozpin advises him.

Khazhak looks down, thinking before sighing, "…Fine, I'll go. But, I don't have anything to wear. You can't exactly wear a tuxedo to a battlefield full of Grimm," Khazhak says, but then looks at Ozpin smiling at him. "…You already sent formal attire to my room for my teammates and I, didn't you?" Khazhak bluntly asks.

"They should be arriving any minute," Ozpin informs him.

Khazhak groans, "I swear, if my outfit is in baby blue, I'm torching your entire stock of caffeine to the ground," Khazhak warns him before walking off, while Ozpin just chuckles as he leaves.

… _A little later, in Cinder's room…_

Cinder is on her bed, sewing up her dress while Emerald is sitting on the floor, looking over her scroll, while Mercury is laid down next to her, reading a comic.

"And finally, Khazhak Rairyu," Emerald says.

Cinder clicks her tongue, "Ah, the one they call the 'Storm of Judgment," Cinder says.

"He's smart, and definitely has a lot of experience, but I wouldn't say he's invincible," Mercury notes while reading his comic.

"Do tell," Cinder asks them to continue.

"His semblance is lightning, and he can use it for different techniques, but I think he can only use it with his swords. However, he also knows how to fight without his swords," Emerald says.

Mercury then sits up, "The whole time I fought him, he blocked my boots with his gauntlets, managed to hold me back, and even landed a blow on me. I think he could tell that I was holding back in order to gauge his skills, and so he held back as well in order to keep his real skills hidden. He never once used his lightning, so I think he doesn't use it unless someone forces him to get more serious," Mercury says.

"However, Khazhak can fight without this thanks to his extensive combat experience, which most of the other students here don't have, so it puts his opponents at a disadvantage. His senses and strength are far higher than theirs, so he when he fights the way he does, he makes it look like he's all-powerful," Emerald says.

"Huh, people assume fate has given him the strength to obtain victory, when really he's acquired the strength himself to take fate into his own hands. Excellent, add him to the list," Cinder says, smiling while pulling out the needle in her dress as Emerald puts down his picture into her scroll.

"YOU should be able to take him no problem," Mercury says.

"It's not about overpowering the enemy…It's about taking AWAY what power they have. And we will, in time," Cinder corrects him.

Mercury lays back down, hands behind his head and sighs, "I hate waiting," he complains.

"Don't worry Mercury. We have a fun weekend ahead of us…" Cinder says, looking at the sewing needle in front of her face.

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 **And that's the chapter. Another long one, but I wanted to get this all into one chapter, as I had previously said when I started posting these chapters on the site. It seems Cinder's group have their eyes on Khazhak and his comrades. What does this mean? Will Khazhak go to the dance? Will Team KEPL be ready for an event as dangerous (LOL) as a school dance? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	33. Chapter 28: Reveal the Steel

**Here we are at Chapter 28. Time for a little truth revealing for Lloyd's past. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 28. Enjoy.**

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 **Chapter 26: Reveal the Steel**

 _…The day before the dance, in the ballroom…_

It is the day before the dance and right now, Yang, Weiss, along with the aid of Reaper and Lloyd, are busy getting the ballroom fixed up for the dance. Ruby is also with them, but is just sitting on a lone table, head resting in her left hand and wearing a sad look on her face. Reaper shoots one of a set of curtains from his weapon to Lloyd, who is hanging on the wall above a window with his claws, and Lloyd grabs it to set it into place over one of the windows in the ballroom. While Ruby is sitting on a chair at the table, sulking, Weiss suddenly places two tablecloths in front of her, both with the same color of a shade of gray.

"I need you to pick a tablecloth," Weiss says, pushing them to Ruby.

Ruby looks at them, "Aren't they both the same?" Ruby asks.

Weiss sighs, "I don't even know why I asked," Weiss says, crunching one tablecloth up before leaving.

Ruby lays her head back on the table as Yang walks over, carrying a big speaker amp on her shoulder like it was a pillow. She places the speaker on the ground, causing the table and the seat Ruby is on to bounce up for a moment. Yang wipes her hands as she walks up to Ruby.

"So, have you picked out a dress yet?" Yang asks, hands on her hips.

"What's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?" Ruby replies solemnly.

"Oh don't worry. She's going," Yang says, before turning to Weiss. "Weiss! I thought we agreed: no doilies!" Yang says.

Weiss then gets in her face, "If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!" Weiss retorts.

Lloyd then comes up, "NO! Yang, just go with it, please. We need those fog machines," Lloyd playfully pleads.

Reaper shakes his head as he joins them, "Spare me your drama, Lloyd," he says.

Just then, a door opens up and Sun and Neptune walk in.

"You're dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asks.

Weiss walks up to him, hands held in front of her, "We were thinking about it," she sweetly says.

Neptune points at her, "That's pretty cool," he says.

"You ladies all excited for dress up?" Sun playfully asks as he walks up, making Weiss slouch and frown at his presence.

"Pfft, yeah right," Ruby scoffs.

"Laugh all you want. I'LL be turning heads tomorrow night," Yang says, confidence filled her voice as she crosses her arms.

"Would one of those heads happen to belong to an eyepatch wearing friend of ours who wears a lot of purple?" Lloyd teases her, until a blushing Yang punches him in the face and sends him flying. "OW!"

"…No," Yang mutters, still blushing. _"Okay, maybe,"_ she thinks to herself.

"Okay…What are you two wearing?" Weiss asks Neptune and Sun.

"Uh, this," Sun motions to his usual attire.

Neptune puts a hand in front of Sun's face, "Ignore him, for he knows not what he says," he playfully says.

Sun pushes the hand out of the way, "Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt and tie kind of place," Sun says.

"Yeah, we've noticed," Yang deadpans.

Sun rubs the back of his head, "So, uh, what does Blake think of all of this? She still being all, you know, Blakey?" Sun asks.

"Obviously," Weiss says, crossing her arms.

"I still can't think of a way to change her mind," Ruby says.

"Guys…" Yang says, walking in front of them. "…Trust me. Blake WILL be at the dance tomorrow," Yang proclaims as she walks away.

Lloyd watches her leave as he gets an idea in his head, _"Oh, you bet she is. And I'm gonna make sure of it,"_ Lloyd thinks to himself.

… _In the school library…_

Blake is in the library, working on one of the computer stations as she continues her search on what the White Fang and Torchwick are planning. As she is working, Blake sees a red dot appear on her screen. The red dot moves along the screen, her eyes following it, and eventually falls onto her right hand. She moves her hand, and it disappears, before she looks back to find the culprit, but sees no one who could have done it. Feeling slightly irritated, Blake turns back to her screen and continues researching, only to see the red dot appear on her right hand again. Blake looks back again, but doesn't see who's doing it, and turns back around. A second later, the same red dot appears on her screen again, and starts moving across the screen. She watches it for a moment before she gets angry and pounds her fists onto the table. She stands up and turns around, angry, but then sees the red dot on the ground in front of her. Blake begins following the red dot, trying to step on it as sell, and continues following it until it turns around a bookshelf in front of her. She follows it around the bookshelf until she looks up to see Yang holding a red light pointer at her, a big smile on her face, spooking Blake.

"Hello~!" Yang sings to her.

"What are you-," Blake begins, but Yang grabs her left arm.

"We need to talk," Yang replies, before pulling Blake away with her.

 _…With Yang and Blake…_

Yang takes Blake into one of the lecture rooms, sitting cross-legged on the front desk while Blake remains standing.

"Yang, if you're going to tell me to stop, you may as well just save your breath," Blake says as she walks by, arms crossed

"I don't want you to stop. I want you to slow down," Yang corrects her.

"We don't have the luxury to slow down," Blake replies, scowling.

"It's not a luxury, it's a necessity," Yang says.

"The NECESSITY is stopping Torchwick," Blake says, dropping her arms and looking at Yang.

"And we're going to, but first you have to sit down and listen to what I have to say," Yang says, patting a spot on the front desk.

Blake thinks for a moment before she sits on the desk, "Fine," she reluctantly says.

"Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island just off the coast of Vale. Our parents were huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal, and our mom would take on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose. And she was like…super mom. Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then…one day she left for a mission and never came back. It was tough. Ruby was really torn up but…I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, you know. And my dad just kind of…shut down. It wasn't long before I learned why…Summer wasn't the first love he'd lost…she was the second. The first…was my mom," Yang solemnly confesses, shocking Blake a little bit. "He wouldn't tell me everything, but I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and that she left me with him just after I was born. No one had seen her since," Yang says, feeling a little down at the memory.

"Why did she leave you?" Blake asks, getting a little curious.

Yang sighs, "That question…Why?" Yang says before standing off the desk wand walking up to the chalk board. "I didn't know the answer, but I was determined to find out. It was all I thought about. I would ask anybody I could what they knew about her," Yang continues, picking up a piece of chalk and starts drawing something on the board. "Then one day, I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers. Or maybe even my mother. I waited for dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon and headed out. I must have walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, was totally exhausted, but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand, but I didn't care. I had made it…And then I saw them, those burning red eyes. There we were, a toddler asleep in the back of a wagon, and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter…But, as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time…My stubbornness should have gotten us killed that night," Yang ends her story, putting the chalk piece down.

Blake stand up, "Yang…I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this is different. I'm not a child, and this isn't just a search for answers! I can't just-," Blake begins.

"I told you, I'm not telling you to stop. I haven't. To this day, I still wanna know what happened to my mother and why she left me, but I will never let that search control me. We're going to find the answers we're looking for, Blake, but if we destroy ourselves in the process, then what good are we?" Yang says.

Blake then gets irritated, "You don't UNDERSTAND, I'm the only one that can do this!" Blake continues to not listen to her.

Yang was about to argue back, but someone else beat her to it.

"YOU ARE SUCH A SELFISH IDIOT!" someone yells.

The two girls look behind them to see Lloyd walking towards them, looking absolutely livid.

"Lloyd?! What are you doing here?" Yang asks, shocked at him being here.

"I'm here to get Blake to stop being an idiot that doesn't care about her comrades," Lloyd answers, still angry.

"What are you talking about? Of course I care about them. I just don't want them to tell me to stop," Blake retorts.

"Then why are you making choices that will lead to their deaths?! You're making the same stupid mistakes that I made in the past!" Lloyd yells, pointing at Blake.

"…What do you mean, 'the same mistakes that you made?" Yang worriedly asks.

Lloyd sighs, "I think it's best if I start from the beginning…But first, I have to show you something," Lloyd says.

Lloyd then reaches for his right arm before he suddenly twists it and then rips it out of its socket and throws it onto the table before them, making them reel back in horror. They quickly look to see that Lloyd isn't bleeding and then look back at the discarded limb…to see metal components on the inside of it.

"Wait…metal?...Lloyd…what are you?" Yang asks, still slightly scared.

"I'm not like the two of you. I'm not human, and I'm not Faunus. I lost my humanity a long time ago. I'm…a cyborg," Lloyd confesses.

"Lloyd, what happened to you?" Blake finally regains his voice.

"I'd rather not talk about it. But, let's just say that I never had a chance to live my childhood, and was forced to become an experiment, and then a weapon for the Atlas military. They took EVERYTHING from me. My body, my freedom, my humanity…most of my soul. It was only after Brother found me that I finally met someone that saw me as a person and not as a tool. Shortly after that, our group was formed and we began doing our own little thing. One day, we went out searching for a nest of Grimm that was terrorizing a local village outside of Mistral. We found the nest and began cutting them down one by one. Soon, the remaining Grimm began retreating from us. Brother ordered us to regroup before going after them, but I didn't listen and ran ahead of them by myself. It was a big mistake," Lloyd said, lowering his head.

"Lloyd, I'm sorry that happened to you, but I still don't understand what you're getting at. Why can't you guys understand that we can't just sit back and wait?! I have to stop Torchwick before it's too late!" Blake says before he can continue.

"That's the thing, Blake. I wanted to kill those Grimm so much that I didn't care about anything else, and I didn't stop to rest or think about anything else. You're making the same mistakes that I made," Lloyd says.

"What mistakes? The mistake of trying to stop a criminal and a group hell bent on destroying humanity," Blake retorts.

"The mistake of putting your comrades at unnecessary risk!" Lloyd begins to shout.

"I'm not doing that! You still don't understand. Why is this so difficult for you?!" Blake shouts back.

"Because brother nearly DIED because of me!" Lloyd yells. This makes Blake shut up and look shocked along with Yang. "On that mission, I went ahead without listening to brother because all I could think about was stopping those Grimm, I didn't care what they thought at the time. I went in, and found A LOT more Grimm there than I thought, and I was surrounded. I began fighting them, but soon I was getting overwhelmed until my aura got depleted. I was about to get hit with a fatal blow that would've killed me…until brother stepped in and took the hit for me. He was heavily wounded from the attack and then Reaper and Porphyrius caught up to us and finished off the rest of the Grimm. We took brother to the nearby village and the people there worked on his injuries. Reaper and Porphyrius berated me for hours on that, but all I could feel was immense guilt. I did that to brother because I wouldn't stop, and I wouldn't listen. On that day, I swore two oaths. The first was an oath of brotherhood to brother, to always fight by his side, and remain loyal to him. The second oath I swore to myself, to ensure that I never make the same mistake again," Lloyd admits, reattaching his right arm to his body with a wince of pain.

"So that's why you always call him 'brother," Yang mutters.

"Blake, THAT is what I'm getting at. If you continue on this path the way you are right now, you will find yourself in a situation where you can't win. Your friends will show up to try to save you and they will end up getting hurt, or worse killed, because you didn't think about them or anything else other than your little mission," Lloyd informs her. "Tell me, Blake, do you want your friends, the people you care about, to get hurt or killed like that because you wouldn't slow down?" Lloyd asks.

Blake lowers her head a moment before looking back at him, "…No, I don't want them to get hurt," she says.

"Then look at Yang," Lloyd says.

Blake turns to look at Yang, and then Yang walks up to her and gently hugs her, making Blake go wide-eyed.

"Blake, I'm not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest. Not just for you, but for the people you care about," Yang says, releasing her and starts walking away up the stairs in the room. "And if you feel like coming out tomorrow…" Yang begins before turning to Blake. "…I'll save you a dance," Yang says, winking at Blake before leaving.

"I would take her up on that if I were you," Lloyd says before leaving as well.

Blake looks on for a moment before sighing and leaving the room through a different way, passing by Yang's chalk drawing of what looks like a crow symbol with a circular gear piece in the center.

 _…With Jaune…_

After a pep talk from Pyrrha and his team, Jaune is walking down outside one of the buildings of the school late at night, with a white flower of sorts in his right hand, and a big smile on his face, as he looks for Weiss. However, as he is looking, he hears her voice.

"Neptune!" Weiss calls out as she walks up to the blue-haired young man.

"Oh, uh, hey, what's up?" he asks.

"I know this is a little, unorthodox, but I wanted to ask you something," Weiss begins as Jaune looks on from around the corner. Weiss holds her arms behind her back, and rubs her right foot behind her left foot. "Would you…like to accompany me to the dance tomorrow?" she asks, looking nervous while Neptune rubs the back of his head.

Jaune just looks on, a defeated look on his face, before he walks away, dropping the flower he was holding.

 _…The next night, at the dance…_

The ballroom was full of energy as students were gather in the ballroom, all dressed in formal attire for the dance. There are tables with punch and some food, curtains hanging over the windows, streamers hanging from the chandeliers, balloons pinned to the sides of the walls, music playing, people dancing together, seats arranged on the sides of the ballroom. All-in-all, the ballroom was splendidly prepared for the occasion. Meanwhile, Yang stands at a podium in front of the main entrance to greet the guests, wearing a white dress going down to just above her knees, with gray edging at the bottom, and straps that wrap around her neck, showing a little cleavage, and white pumps. She looks over at Weiss, who is wearing a white dress that goes down to above her knees, with two holes at the sides that expose her hips, and an upper section that is a black mesh, just above her chest and on the straps going down to her upper back, and white pumps as well. As Yang turns back forward, she hears the doors opening and looks up to see Team KEPL, all dressed in formal attire.

 _"Hubba-hubba,"_ Yang thinks to herself as she stares at the scene before her.

Lloyd is wearing a gray tuxedo, with a gray jacket, vest, and pants, black dress shoes, and a black buttoned up dress shirt with a gray tie, and finally black gloves. Porphyrius is wearing a black tuxedo, with a black jacket, pants, and dress shoes, but with a purple vest and tie, and a white buttoned up dress shirt underneath, as well as his signature eyepatch. Reaper is wearing his mask, but has a black cloak around the head and shoulders to act as a hood. He is also wearing a black tuxedo like Porphyrius', but with a red vest and tie over a white dress shirt, and black dress shoes. Khazhak's outfit is slightly different from his teammates', though. He is wearing a black tuxedo, but the jacket and pants have thin gray lines running down them, and is wearing a dark blue dress shirt under a black tie, and no vest. Yang can't help but slightly gawk at them for a moment before recomposing herself and greets them.

"Well, you guys certainly know how to clean up for the dance," Yang says.

"Thanks," Lloyd and Reaper reply together, while Khazhak and Porphyrius just look slightly uncomfortable.

Yang walks up to them," You look nice, Khazhak," she compliments him.

"Well, I feel VIOLATED," Khazhak replies, fixing his tie.

"That makes two of us," Porphyrius mutters before Yang walks up to him, and he starts blushing from seeing her in a dress. "Um, well, you, uh, look…really nice," Porphyrius stutters.

Yang affectionately laughs at him, "Aw, thanks, you look good too," Yang says, winking at him, which makes him blush a little more. "Well, come on in and enjoy yourselves," Yang says before returning to the podium.

The four boys separate to enjoy themselves, with Lloyd and Reaper heading to the punch bowl, Porphyrius talking with Weiss, and Khazhak just leaning against a wall off to the side. Soon enough, Porphyrius goes off in one direction, allowing Reaper to speak with Weiss.

"Weiss," he greets her.

"Hello, Reaper. I must admit, you do look good in that tuxedo," she compliments his attire.

"Thanks, but if I'm being honest, I feel out of place in this attire. I guess I'm just more used to my combat clothes since I do more fighting than I do dancing," Reaper notes.

"Well, still, you look good," Weiss says.

Reaper chuckles, "Heh, as do you, though I'd expect nothing less from Weiss Schnee. The same can be said with this dance. You and Yang did a marvelous job," he says.

"Oh, please, you and Lloyd helped out as well. You two deserve some of the credit. But yes, I am glad at how well tonight has turned out," Weiss says as she looks around the ballroom.

"And yet, I can see that you are not entirely happy, and it has nothing to do with the dance itself," Reaper notes.

"What? What are you talking about?" Weiss tries to play it off.

"You asked Neptune to the dance, and yet he declined, for reasons I do not yet know," Reaper says, having figured it out from the start.

Weiss appears shocked, "What?! How did you know about that?" she almost yells.

"YOU just told me. I'm not really an expert in this sort of thing, but I can see that not having a date to the dance is bothering you a little bit. You cannot lie to me that easily," Reaper replies.

Weiss sighs, "Well, he at least had a reason for it, and asked me not to tell anyone. I accepted, and besides, I had to focus on the dance anyway. I don't have time for boys," she says, though Reaper can tell that it is just a front.

"Well, be that as it may, should you require any form of assistance, please don't hesitate to ask," Reaper offers her.

Weiss actually smiles a little bit at this, "Thank you reaper," she says.

"Good, but please, do try to enjoy yourself tonight. A sad expression does not match well with that lovely dress of yours," Reaper says before he takes his leave, leaving Weiss slightly blushing a bit.

A few minutes later, the doors open up again, and Khazhak looks up, going wide-eyed.

"Woah," he mutters, eyes still wide.

Here walks in Ruby Rose, wearing a short red, sleeveless dress, with a thick black sash around the waist and black edging at the bottom. The dress reaches about halfway down her upper leg. At the chest, the dress splits vertically down the middle, and each half covers both of her breasts. Across the vertical split is a black crisscrossing ribbon. The fabric covering her upper chest, shoulder, and upper back appears to be black mesh. The collar is of the dress is black, and from midway up each sleeve, a thin black line of fabric extends up to the front middle of the collar. Along with the dress, she is wearing transparent black pantyhose and a pair of black pumps. Yang sees this as well, and shows a big smile.

"Oh, you look beautiful!" Yang bounces in joy at her sister.

Ruby groans and rubs her head, "Can we have a serious talk about how Weiss fights in these?" Ruby asks, gesturing to the pumps as she starts having trouble walking, much to her laughing sister's amusement. Khazhak then walks up to her, eyes still wide at seeing her in a dress. Ruby then blushes when she sees him in his formal attire. "Wow, Khazhak, y-you look…r-really good," Ruby stutters as she looks at him.

"Thanks, uh, you look…really nice, too," Khazhak replies, failing to keep his cool at the site.

Yang notices the exchange and grins, _"oh, how cute. My little sister has a crush. But, I need to have a talk with Khazhak about that,"_ she thinks to herself.

Outside the ballroom, Sun is walking to the building, still wearing his pants, shoes, and red vambraces, but is now wearing a black buttoned up short sleeved dress shirt with a high collar, and a blue tie around his neck over a necklace.

"Stupid, dumb neck trap," Sun groans as he tries to adjust the tie.

"I knew you'd look better in a tie," a voice says behind him.

Sun turns around to see Blake. Blake is wearing a short-sleeved purple dress that goes to above her knees, with a slit down the right side, showing her leg. Around her waist is a black belt. The dress has two straps that go up to a black collar around her neck, slowing a little cleavage. Her upper chest, upper back, and shoulders are covered in a black mesh, and she is wearing purple bow that covers her ears instead of her usual black one. She walks up to Sun and takes his right arm as they walk together.

"So, does this mean that we're going…together?" Sun hopefully asks.

"Technically, though my first dance is spoken for," Blake replies, and they both head to the dance.

Inside, everyone is enjoying themselves, including Blake as she took up Yang's previous offer for a dance, having Yang spin her around before they bow to one another. Yang then motions for Sun to take over and he starts dancing with Blake while Yang walks away. Yang walks up to Ruby, Weiss, Khazhak, and Lloyd as they look on at Blake dancing with Sun, laughing at something he said before looking back at them, smiling.

"I told you she would come," Yang says.

"Mission accomplished," Weiss adds.

"So…what do we do now?" Ruby asks, looking at them.

"Just have fun," Yang says before she, Weiss, and Lloyd leave Khazhak and Ruby to themselves and Ruby watches them go.

"Does that mean that I can change out of these stupid things and into my hood now?" Ruby pleads. "Stupid lady stilts," Ruby complains about her pumps as she still has trouble walking in them.

"And that does that mean I can get out this stupid get up. I look like a fancy lawyer," Khazhak mutters, fixing his shirt collar.

"Not enjoying yourselves?" they hear a voice and see Professor Ozpin walk up beside Ruby' left side.

"You want me to be honest?" Khazhak asks rhetorically.

"Oh, no, haha. Everything's fine. I'm just not much of a…fancy-pancy, dancy girl," Ruby replies.

"Well, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield, even if you may want to," Ozpin says.

"Yeah, that lesson's been floating around a lot lately," Ruby says, crossing her arms.

"No kidding," Khazhak adds.

"If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different. Two partners, interlocked, heh. Although, one wrong move on the ballroom merely lead to a swollen foot," Ozpin says.

"Or a twisted ankle," Ruby mutters, looking at her feet.

"It's not every day that friends are able to come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that can help make them stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget," Ozpin explains to them as they watch everyone else enjoying the night.

Ruby and Khazhak smile at this.

"I guess…you're right about. Times of peace are hard to come by these days. So it is best that we enjoy them whenever we get the chance," Khazhak says. _"Before we lose them."_ He thinks before he looks back to Ruby without her noticing. _"So I must ensure that we don't lose them."_

"Well, I'll leave you two to enjoy yourselves. Have a nice night," Ozpin says before walking behind them to go somewhere else. However, he leans close to Khazhak before he leaves. "I suggest you take this opportunity to make a move on Miss Rose. Good luck," he whispers, making Khazhak blush, before he leaves.

"I swear, that guy gets a kick out of making me uncomfortable," Khazhak mutters before he hears the main doors open and looks at the entrance.

"You guys are just in time," Yang says from the podium as she looks at the new guests.

The two new guests turn out to be Mercury and Emerald, with Mercury wearing a black tuxedo with gold lines on the edges of the jacket and shoulders, along with a gray vest, a white buttoned up dress shirt, a gold bowtie, and black dress shows. Meanwhile, Emerald is wearing a dark green sleeveless dress, but black under her chest, and going down to above her knees, and black pumps.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Mercury says, the two of them smiling.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Now we know more about Lloyd's origins, and why he calls Khazhak 'brother'. Some moments between all the members of Teams RWBY and KEPL. What else could happen at the dance? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	34. Chapter 29: Dance Dance Infiltration

**Here we are at Chapter 29. Let's get into some of my own personal favorite moments with Team KEPL and Team RWBY. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 29. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 29: Dance Dance Infiltration**

 _…The School Dance…_

The dance continues to go off smoothly, with everyone chatting, having some drinks, and dancing; even Goodwitch decided to have a dance with Ironwood (for whatever reason, I'll never know). At one table, Ruby and Khazhak hide out by the punch bowl, drinks in their hands, as they are just not used to this kind of situation. A moment later, Jaune, in his own tux, approaches them with a drink in his hand.

"I see you two are hiding out at the punch bowl, too," Jaune says, leaning to her.

"Yep," Ruby replies, popping the "p".

"Hm-hm," Khazhak hums in agreement.

Jaune closes his eyes, "To the socially awkward," he jokes, gesturing for them to touch their cups together, to which Ruby giggles while Khazhak hums as they clank their glasses together.

"Sorry things didn't work out with Weiss," Ruby says.

"Well, it's not like we weren't surprised by it," Khazhak mutters.

"Neh, it's fine. Neptune's pretty 'cool.' I get why she went with him," Jaune says.

"Excuse me?" Khazhak asks confused.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asks as well.

"Well, come on, not many people can pull off BLUE hair," Jaune says.

"No, I mean, Weiss came to the dance alone," Ruby points out.

Jaune coughs down his drink, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, "Uh, what?" he asks, shocked, and then looks to Weiss who is busy trying to fix a flower that is falling in one of the flower vases in the ballroom and failing.

"Yeah, she said she had too much to focus on to worry about boys," Ruby explains.

Weiss then looks over to see Blake, Sun, and Neptune talking and laughing at something Neptune said. This makes Jaune growl in slight anger a bit.

"Hold. My. Punch," Jaune says, handing his drink to Ruby and starts walking to where Neptune is.

After he walks away, Ruby takes a sip out of his drink that he handed to her.

"You did not just drink Jaune's drink, did you?" Khazhak asks as he sees what she did.

Meanwhile, Jaune is walking through the crowd of people in the ballroom, brushing them aside if needed as he gets closer to Neptune, but stops when Pyrrha walks by him, wearing her signature headdress, but also a long red sleeveless dress that has a slit down the right side and wraps around her neck, exposing her back, and black pumps. He sees her walking up some stairs, looking a little sad, and thinks for a moment before deciding to follow her. He finds her standing in an outside balcony, resting an arm against the stone railing at the edge with several potted-pants situated around it.

"Hey, Pyrrha," Jaune greets her.

"Hello, Jaune," Pyrrha greets back, but without her usual vigor.

"…You okay? I haven't seen you tonight," Jaune asks a he walks up to her.

"Arrived late, I'm afraid," Pyrrha replies, turning back to the railing.

"Well, you look really nice," Jaune compliments her.

"Thank you," Pyrrha replies.

Jaune puts his hands behind his back, "Your, uh, date isn't gonna beat me up for saying that, is he?" Jaune asks.

"I think you're safe for tonight," Pyrrha says. _"He still hasn't figured it out yet."_

"So, where is the guy?" Jaune asks, clasping his hands together as he looks around.

Pyrrha turns to him, "…There is no guy," Pyrrha admits, a frown on her face.

"Heh, w-what?" Jaune asks, baffled at this.

"Nobody asked me," Pyrrha continues.

"But that's…Eh, you're PYRRHA NIKOS, how could nobody ask you?" Jaune asks.

"I've been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities. I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise, but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place. Everyone assumes I'm too good for them, that I'm on a level that they simply can't attain. It's become impossible to form any sort of meaningful relationships with people. That's what I like about YOU. When we met, you didn't even know my NAME. You treated me just like anyone else, and thanks to you, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. I guess…you're the kind of guy I wish I was here with. Someone who just saw me for me," Pyrrha says before she turns around and walks away, still wearing a sad expression on her face.

Jaune looks down for a moment before turning, "Uh, w-wait-," he begins, but stops when Neptune walks onto the balcony.

"Hey, uh, Jaune right?" Neptune greets him, wearing the same kind of black tux as him, but with gold lining, a gold bowtie, and his signature goggles on his head.

Jaune sighs, "Yeah," he says, looking away.

"This party's pretty lame, huh? I mean, ballroom dancing, psst," Neptune says.

"Yeah," Jaune reluctantly says, turning away from him.

"Cute girls though, huh?" Neptune says.

Jaune growls, getting angry before turning to him, "Is that ALL you think about?" Jaune asks, having had enough of Neptune's behavior.

"Huh?" Neptune asks.

"Do you even care about the girls you're hitting on? How they feel about you?" Jaune practically interrogates him.

"Woah! Where's this coming from?" Neptune ask, raising his hands in defense.

"How could you just turn her down like that?" Jaune continues.

"Wait, w-who?" Neptune asks, still confused.

"WEISS!" Jaune blurts out.

Neptune rubs his head, "I, uh, it uh, it just didn't work out, you know," Neptune says.

"What, you think you're too cool? Too many other options? Weiss Schnee asked YOU to the dance. What in the world could possibly keep you from goin-," Jaune begins.

"I can't dance," Neptune interrupts him, turning his head away in shame.

"Beg your pardon?" Jaune asks, both shocked and confused.

"I can't dance, man!" Neptune admits more clearly.

"But, you're…so…cool," Jaune gestures to Neptune.

Neptune looks back to him, "Thank you, I try really, really hard," Neptune replies.

"…You would rather break a girl's heart and go to a dance alone than…just admit to everyone that you can't move in rhythm to music?" Jaune questions him.

"That about sums it up, yeah," Neptune confesses.

"Well, I certainly feel a lot better about myself," Jaune says, turning away from him.

"Please don't tell anybody. Look, if you want Weiss, she's all yours. I don't want to get in your way," Neptune says.

 _"Tempting…but I know I'm not the guy she wanted to go to the dance with. So…"_ Jaune thinks before turning back around to Neptune and sighs, and leans against the railing. "Do you like her?" he asks.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't know her too well yet, but she seems pretty cool," Neptune answers.

"Then just go…talk to her. No pickup lines, no suave moves. Just be yourself. I've heard that's the way to go," Jaune advises him, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but-," Neptune begins, raising a finger.

"Hey, you DON'T have to look cool ALL the time. In all honesty, if you could be a little less cool, I'd really appreciate it," Jaune interrupts him.

"…Yeah, okay," Neptune agrees.

"Go talk to her. I guarantee it'll make her night," Jaune suggests.

"Thanks. You're a really cool guy, Jaune," Neptune says and walks up to fist bump him.

"Alright, don't lie to my face," Jaune says, but fist bumps him back and then watches as Neptune walks away. Jaune then sighs, "Alright, only one thing left to do," Jaune says, smiling as he makes his leave, but stops when Khazhak walks up onto the balcony. "Khazhak, what are you doing here?" he asks.

"Listening in on your pep talk with Neptune. That, and I needed some fresh air, and to get away from some of the other girls here who wanted to dance with me. I don't dance," Khazhak says. He then walks up to Jaune and places a hand on his left shoulder. "Good job with Neptune. And good luck with Pyrrha. I know she's waiting for you," Khazhak says, being supportive of him for once.

"Thanks, Khazhak," Jaune replies before leaving while Khazhak walks up to the railing.

Khazhak looks up to the night sky, "Now that I think about it…This really doesn't suit me," Khazhak mutters, shaking his head.

"Khazhak?" a voice asks behind him.

Khazhak turns to see Ruby," Hey, little rose. Needed some fresh air too?" he asks.

Ruby walks up to his side, "Yeah, you already know I don't really do well in these kinds of events," she replies, looking up to the sky as well.

"Yeah, I don't dance, and you can barely stand while in those heels of yours," Khazhak jokes, making Ruby groan.

A moment later, Ruby can hear the music being played inside change to a slow tune for couples. She then looks at Khazhak at the corner of her eye, hoping he doesn't notice.

 _"A slow dance. Maybe…maybe I should ask him to dance. Gah! He wouldn't do that, Ruby. He just said that he doesn't dance. And plus, I still have trouble walking in these things,"_ Ruby thinks to herself, her cheeks becoming slightly pink.

However, Khazhak notices her inner turmoil, and then looks back to hear the music. He thinks for a moment before sighing and shaking his head. He then turns to Ruby, who notices his movement and turns to him.

"I'm only doing this once," he says, before he extends his right hand to her, and bows his head. "Would you honor me with one song's worth of a dance, milady?" he asks like a gentleman.

Ruby's blush becomes redder then, _"Did he just ask me to dance with him?! Oh, what do I do?! What do I do?! Come on Ruby, stop hesitating and move!"_ she mentally chastises herself before shaking her head, and gently places her hand in his. "I would love to," she answers. With Khazhak's guidance, she places one hand on his left shoulder and keeps the other in his hand while Khazhak keeps her left hand in his right hand and places his left hand on her hip. "Just so you know, I'm not really good at this. So, sorry if I step on your toes," she says.

Khazhak chuckles, "Don't worry, just follow my lead," he says, and they begin dancing to the music.

Khazhak moves one step forward as Ruby moves back, before moving left with his feet while Ruby follows, and then steps right with Ruby following along nervously. Khazhak then twirls her under his arm before bringing her back into his arms and they continue to move to the beat of the slow music. Even as they move, Khazhak keeps his eyes locked on Ruby's, keeping her entranced as she follows his lead.

"Wow, I thought you said that you can't dance?" Ruby says.

"I said I DON'T dance. I never said I didn't know how to dance," Khazhak corrects her as they continue dancing.

"Where did you learn how to dance?" Ruby asks, starting to get the hang of it.

"My younger sister, Voshkie'ahk, would often drag me into her little makeshift dance sessions back home when I wasn't training with our father to be a huntsmen. This was the first thing she needed help with. It was not my style, but it was sort of fun, and I got to help out my sister because she wanted to be a dancer," Khazhak says, though his expression starts to become a little down as he twirls Ruby again.

Ruby quickly regrets her words, _"Oh, nice move Ruby. He already told you that his family is dead, and now here you are, bringing up bad memories. Bravo,"_ she mentally berates herself. "I'm sorry Khazhak, I didn't mean to bring them up," Ruby apologizes as they continue to dance.

Khazhak shakes his head, "It's alright, you didn't know," he says.

They continue to dance in silence, with Ruby now fully attuned to the moves and the rhythm of the song as Khazhak spins her one more time before bringing her back to their first positions as the song ends. They both slowly separate, with Ruby looking down while Khazhak rubs his head and looks off to the side.

"Well, I should go find my sister, before she accidently breaks something," Ruby says.

"Yeah, and I should find Lloyd before he gets himself kicked out of the ballroom," Khazhak replies.

Ruby turns to leave first, but stops for a moment before she walks back to Khazhak and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek, making them both blush.

"I, uh, I enjoyed the dance, Khazhak. I had a good time. So, see you later," Ruby nervously says before walking away.

Khazhak slowly put a hand on his right cheek, "Wow," he mutters, still a little red at the gesture.

A few minutes later, Ruby finds Yang leaning on a wooden railing on the second floor of the ballroom, watching over the other students enjoying the night, and walks up to her.

"You know, I think we really needed this," Yang says as she watches Blake dancing with Sun, and Ren dancing with Nora, Ren wearing a tux like Jaune's, and Nora wearing a pink and white dress with the pink section looking like a heart over her chest.

She then looks to see Penny, wearing a long sleeved green dress, dancing in between two Atlas soldiers.

"Yeah, and you did a great job planning it, too," Ruby says, smiling.

"Aw, thanks," Yang says, wrapping her right arm around Ruby in a strong headlock, making Ruby groan and flail her arms around. "It wasn't all me though. Weiss, Reaper, and Lloyd did a lot too," Yang says. They then look down to see Reaper and Lloyd talking with Porphyrius along with a few other students. Then, they look over to see Weiss sitting on one of the chairs off to the side of the room, before Neptune walks up to her, rubbing his head before Weiss motions for him to sit in an empty chair next to her. He takes her offer, and sits down and they begin to talk, making Weiss smile. Yang then looks back to Ruby, "So, I saw you walk onto the balcony outside shortly after Khazhak went up there. Did you two do anything?" Yang, asks with a teasing stare.

"What! No! All we did is talk, and then we…we…danced," Ruby confesses, blushing.

"Aw! My baby sister has a crush!" Yang squeals, bringing Ruby into a bone-crushing hug.

"Y-Yang…can't…breathe," Ruby gasps.

"Oh, sorry," Yang apologizes before releasing her. "But on a more serious note, he still needs my sisterly seal of approval before you two can start dating," Yang says.

"Yang! We're not a couple! And besides, I'm not a little kid anymore. I can take care of myself," Ruby retorts, her blush getting worse.

Yang laughs, "Hey, you will always be my baby sister, so it's my job to look after you," Yang replies, making Ruby groan. Yang sighs, "Tomorrow, it's back to work," she says with less vigor.

Ruby shrugs her shoulders, "Well, I'm sure we can handle whatever gets thrown at us," Ruby says before they start hearing the students below them laughing for some reason and look down to see what it is. "…Except for that."

Khazhak reunites with his teammates and they look over to see the commotion. Khazhak, Reaper, and Porphyrius go wide-eyed while Lloyd starts laughing while holding out his scroll, recording what they're seeing.

"You have got to be kidding me," Khazhak mutters, but then looks at Lloyd. "Are you really recording this?" he bluntly asks.

"Are you kidding?! This is grade A blackmail material right here! Why wouldn't I record it?" Lloyd replies while still laughing and holding up his scroll.

Feeling someone approach her, Pyrrha turns around, "…Jaune?" she asks, surprised by what's in front of her.

In front of her is Jaune, no longer wearing his tux, but rather a white strapless dress with a blue ribbon wrapped around the waist, and wearing thigh-high light stockings and regular shoes.

"Eh, a promise is a promise," he says, smiling even in his situation.

Pyrrha starts laughing at Jaune, feeling happy for the first time tonight.

"…Jaune, you didn't have to," she says, regaining control of herself.

"Hey, an Arc never goes back on his word. Now do you wanna stand there and laugh at me, or do you wanna dance?" he asks, offering a hand to her as a more upbeat tune begins.

Pyrrha takes his hand, "I would LOVE to dance," she says.

Jaune then pulls her close to him, much to her surprise but liking, and they start dancing as they pass by Ren and Nora.

Nora looks at Ren, "Ren. This. Is. HAPPENING!" She yells in excitement.

"Wait. What is happening?" Ren asks, not understanding her before Nora pulls him with her to the dance floor.

The members of Team JNPR start dancing to the music, with Jaune and Pyrrha up front while Ren and Nora are behind them. They step, spin, and move their arms to the rhythm, while the other students in the room all cheer and clap at their performance. The members of Team KEPL can't help but look on in shock and slight awe at the scene.

"Gotta admit, that kid's got balls for pulling off this stunt. Jaune's got my respect for that," Khazhak says while his teammates just nod in agreement as they continue watching.

At one point, the group separates and Jaune is seen twirling Pyrrha under his arm.

"I had no idea you were a dancer," she says as they keep dancing.

"Yeah, well, these things tend to happen when you grow up with seven sisters," Jaune replies before dipping Pyrrha and then spinning her again and then follows her.

Meanwhile, Neptune is busy talking with Weiss.

"So, what made you change your mind?" Weiss asks.

"Huh?" Neptune replies.

"You said you were embarrassed at first. What made you come talk to me?" she asks again.

"…You're looking at him," Neptune says, gesturing to Jaune who is still dancing with Pyrrha. "You've got some good friends looking out for you," he says, and they just watch the dancing continue, with smiles on their faces.

As the couples continue their dancing, Mercury and Emerald watch over them from the second floor balcony.

"It appears all the dancers have partners," Emerald says.

"How long do I have?" Cinder asks from their communicator.

"We should probably be home by midnight to be safe," Mercury suggests.

"I'll keep my eye on the clock," Cinder says, her right hand on her ear, waiting outside the ballroom.

Meanwhile, Ruby is standing around, feeling out of place, and decides to walk out the main entrance for some fresh air. While walking, she sees Cinder running along the dorm rooftops beyond her. Cinder is wearing a sleeveless black jacket, long gloves, stiletto heel boots, a black glass mask, and several straps of containers of powered dust lined across her pants. Ruby watches as she jumps across a few rooftops, getting suspicious, and goes to follow her. However, Khazhak takes notice of this, and decides to follow.

"Team KEPL, wait here. I gotta go check something out," he orders them and leaves to follow Ruby.

"I wonder what got into him," Porphyrius asks Reaper and Lloyd, who just shrug their shoulders.

"Hey Porphyrius!" he hears behind him, and turns around to see Yang walking up to him.

"Um, what's up Yang?" he asks.

"What's up is you coming to dance with me," she declares, motioning to the dance floor as another slow song plays.

Immediately, Porphyrius starts getting nervous, "Dance?! I can't dance. Besides, I need to watch over the ballroom, uh, like Khazhak ordered me to. Right guys?" he lies, and looks to his teammates, hoping they'll play along.

"I don't remember such an order. What about you Reaper?" Lloyd asks, playing innocent.

"Nope, I have no recollection of it. But, since we aren't under orders right now, why don't you go and dance with Yang, Porphyrius?" Reaper adds, siding with Lloyd.

"See, they're cool with it. So, let's get to dancing!" Yang says as she grabs his arm and starts pulling him onto the dance floor.

Porphyrius looks back to plead for help, but sees that Reaper and Lloyd have turned their backs on him, pretending like nothing is going on.

 _"TRAITORS!"_ he mentally yells as he and Yang reach the dance floor. "Seriously Yang, I have no idea how to dance. I'm probably just gonna end up stepping on your toes BEFORE we even begin," he pleads.

"Oh, don't worry. Just follow my lead," Yang replies, to which he gulps as Yang puts their arms in their proper places and they start moving to the slow beat.

As they step with the rhythm of the song, Porphyrius occasionally glances down to make sure he doesn't step on Yang's feet. Yang notices and giggles at his nervousness, while Porphyrius can only groan while having a little blush on his face. After a minute or two, Porphyrius starts to get the hang of it and even makes a leap of faith by twirling Yang two times before bringing her back to him. They continue dancing until Yang decides to have a little fun with him and leans in close to his ear.

"You can lower your hand a little bit if you want," Yang whispers seductively, making Porphyrius go wide-eyed and blushing madly as he quickly shakes his head and declines. This makes Yang giggle as she pulls back. "Oh, I'm just kidding. Relax for once, Porphyrius," she says.

"Easy for you to say. You're used to these kinds of things," he replies. _"Why am I having such a hard time dancing with one pretty girl? Wait where did that come from? I mean, yes Yang is pretty, Hell she's even beautiful, but still…Ugh, I don't get it anymore!"_

Porphyrius spins Yang again and brings her back, but this time Yang ends up with her back pressed against his front, with his arms around her, making him blush again as she leans into him.

 _"Yes, all according to plan. Now, don't lose this momentum, Yang,"_ Yang mentally tells herself as Porphyrius spins her around again to face him and they keep dancing.

After a few more minutes, the song ends, and Porphyrius ends it with one last twirl of Yang before she ends up right in his arms and her body closer to his then when they began.

"Um, well, I…guess the dance is over," Porphyrius nervously says as he releases Yang.

"Yep. It was a lot of fun. I had a really great time Porphyrius, so thanks. Oh, and here's your reward for tonight," Yang says before planting a little kiss on his cheek, making him freeze in his position as she walks away giggling.

At this point, Lloyd and Reaper appear, "Woooo! And here I thought you were a chick REPELLANT, Porphyrius. Not a chick MAGNET!" Lloyd teases him, getting Porphyrius out of his stupor and punching him in the nose. "OW!"

Meanwhile, Cinder is approaching the CCT tower not too far away. As she stealthy moves closer, she sees one Atlas soldier guarding the front entrance. She moves to another position, gaining his attention. As he slowly walks forward to see what is going on, Cinder sneaks up behind him and deals a karate chop on his head, knocking him out with a goofy smile on his face. She catches him and drags his body behind some bushes before moving inside. When she leisurely walks in, she takes note of four guards in the main room. One notices her.

"Excuse me, no one's allowed in this area," he says as he reaches for his pistol. "Stop!" he orders.

Cinder rushes at him as he pulls out his pistol and aims it at her. He shoots, but Cinder runs by the bullets as they hit the ground, grabs his arm and punches him in the face with her left arm. She then looks behind her to see a second guard running at her with a sword drawn. He back kicks him away before kicking at the first guard's right leg, making him kneel, and then flips over him before throwing him to the railing on the steps. The two other guards by the terminals jump over the steps and run at Cinder. The designs on Cinder's gloves and boots glow as she spins, conjuring up flames that dissipate and are replaced with two black blades in her hands. She swings her swords at one guard, blocking his sword and landing a strike, before doing the same thing to the other guard, and then leg sweeps him off his feet. The third guard makes three swings at her, but she blocks them, and then tries to kick her legs, but gets blocked again. She then elbows him in the face before double punching him back, and finishes him off with a front flip downward kick. She looks around a moment before she moves to the elevator. Two guards await inside the elevator.

"Hey man, do you know the Wi-Fi password?" one guard asks the other.

"It's 'Beacon,' but replace the 'e' with a '3' and add a pound symbol to the end," he answers.

The elevator doors open and the get spooked when they see Cinder standing in front of them. One guard looks behind her to see the other guards laying on the ground unconscious. Cinder just smiles and calmly walks into the elevator in between the two guards as the door closes and fighting sounds can be heard behind them.

Outside the CCT, Ruby walks up and looks around. She gasps when she sees the unconscious guard in the bushes. Ruby pulls out her scroll and hits a few buttons, and a moment later, her rocket propelled locker shows up, crashing into the ground behind her. It opens up to reveal her weapon, Crescent Rose, inside. Back inside the CCT, the elevator stops at the communications room. The elevator doors open to show Cinder with her scroll and the two guards on the floor, unconscious.

"Hm, that's handy," she says before walking inside.

She walks up and sits at the terminal at the reception desk, and starts typing something onto the terminal. While on the terminal, she gets a call on her communicator.

"A party guest is leaving," Emerald says from the other end.

Cinder sighs, "Which one?" she asks.

"…Ironwood," Emerald whispers as she and Mercury are dancing back at the dance.

They look to see Ironwood leaving with Ozpin seeing him off.

"I guess the general's had enough fun for one night," Mercury says while Cinder uploads something onto the terminal, showing a symbol in the form of a queen chess piece. "Should we intervene?" he asks.

Suddenly, all the terminals in the room light up with the queen chess piece symbol on them.

Cinder smile, "No…we're done here," she says and goes to leave until she hears the elevator doors about to open and hides behind the reception desk.

Out of the elevator comes Ruby, with her sniper-scythe fully extended. She walks into the room, looking around for anyone.

"Hello?" she calls out before she trips on her pumps, still having trouble walking in them. She then continues looking. "Is anyone there? Hello?" she calls out again.

Cinder then decides to stand up and reveal herself, but she keeps her mask on to hide her identity.

"Excuse me. You know, it's not a masquerade party. So why don't you take off that-," she starts.

However, Cinder interrupts her by pulling out one of her containers, swinging it in front of her as the dust inside comes out and hardens into floating glass spikes. She waves her right hand, causing them to shoot towards Ruby. Ruby spins her scythe as a shield, blocking them before she sticks the blade into the floor and starts firing off some shots at Cinder. Cinder's clothes glow again as she blocks the shots with her left palm and then spins her body while forming her swords again. Ruby then pulls out her scythe and points it behind her, pulling the trigger, and propelling her into the air above Cinder. Cinder backflips out of the way as Ruby slams her scythe into the floor. Next, Cinder jumps into the air, combining her swords into a bow and conjures up three arrows, all pointed at Ruby. She fires them, but before they can hit Ruby, Khazhak suddenly appears and destroys them with his blades before landing in front of Ruby.

"That's no way to treat a lady," he says, eyeing Cinder. "But, THIS is how I treat an enemy," he continues, charging up his right blade. "LIGHTNING SLASH!" he yells, sending out his lightning wave attack.

Cinder jumps over the attack as it hits the ground. Khazhak then rushes in, and attack her with a right slash, then a left, spinning his body from the swing to make a double left swing with his swords. Cinder evades his swings before she collides her blades against Khazhak's and they hold their ground.

"Now, THIS is more my kind of dancing!" Khazhak says as he pushes Cinder back and fires off four shots at her.

Cinder blocks the shots with her swords and then just looks up and smiles at them. However, the elevator doors open again and all three look back to see Ironwood show up. Ironwood notices them, and Khazhak just grunts before he and Ruby look back, only to see that Cinder had already escaped when they were distracted.

"Damn," Khazhak mutters.

"What is going on here?" Ironwood asks them.

Ruby and Khazhak deactivate their weapons, "That's what I'd like to know," Khazhak mutters, not noticing the queen chess piece appear on one of the computer screens for a quick second.

Back at the dance, Ozpin is seen outside the ballroom, seemingly alone.

"Are you sure you don't want to see him? It's been a long time since you two last saw each other," he asks someone who is hiding in the shadows with his back turned to them.

"…I'm sure. It's not the right time. I can't see him yet…not like this. I no longer have that right," a female voice replies.

Ozpin sighs, "He will find out soon enough, you and I both know that. It wasn't your fault," he says.

"I know that, but it IS my fault that I wasn't there for him for so long. The only way I'll be able to face him again…is as an opponent," the female voice declares.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A little romance going down between multiple pairs, as well as some mysterious events in the shadows. Who knows what will happen next? Who was Ozpin talking to? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	35. Chapter 30: Field Trip

**Here we are at Chapter 30. We'll be getting to Mountain Glenn soon, where I have a surprise in store. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 30. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 30: Field Trip**

… _The next day after the dance…_

In the morning after the dance, Professor Ozpin is sitting in his office, accompanied by Professor Glynda Goodwitch and General Ironwood.

"…They were here. Ozpin, they were HERE!" Ironwood almost shout while slamming his fist on Ozpin's desk while Ozpin just rests his head in his hands.

"We are very much aware of that. Thank you, James," Glynda retorts.

"Fantastic! You're aware," Ironwood sarcastically replies. "Now are we going to do something about it or should we just stay the course and continue to ignore what's right in front of us?" Ironwood spitefully asks.

Ozpin then hears a beeping on his desk and stands, "Come in," he says.

The doors open to reveal Ruby and Khazhak, back in their usual attire, entering the room.

"You wanted to see us?" Khazhak asks, before narrowing his eyes at Ironwood for a moment.

"Ah, sorry it took so long. Someone accidently hit all of the buttons on the elevator on the way up here," Ruby apologizes before looking around. "It wasn't me," she defends herself as she and Khazhak walk up to the teachers.

"Thank you for coming, Ruby, Khazhak. How are you two feeling?" Ozpin asks.

"Fine, considering what happened last night," Khazhak replies.

"Okay, I guess. I'd feel better if my bad-guy catching record wasn't 0-for-3," Ruby says, showing three fingers. But the teachers just give them serious, bland, looks. "Okay, so that's the tone we're going for. Got it," she mutters while rubbing her head.

"Ruby, I feel it's appropriate-," Ironwood begins while walking up to her before Khazhak stands in between them, keeping Ironwood from placing a hand on her shoulder. "Khazhak, I was only trying to give Ruby some praise for what you two did," Ironwood says.

"Sorry, Ironwood, but from my experience, everything you touch, turns to metal, or turns to rust. So, try to put that hand on Ruby, and you won't get it back," Khazhak warns the general while protectively guarding Ruby.

"I see you still don't trust me," Ironwood responds, taking his hand back.

"I trust an URSA more than I trust you. Ruby and I did what we had to do, and that's it. So back off, before I decide to slice you in two," Khazhak threatens him while grasping his blades.

"Khazhak, please. Now's not the time," Ruby pleads with him, making Khazhak release his grip on his blades.

"I suggest we move on to more important matters, shall we? Now, the general here has already informed us of the events that…transpired last night. But now that you two have rested, we were wondering if you had anything to add," Ozpin says.

Glynda then steps up, "Was anyone else with her? Did she look familiar to you at all?" Goodwitch asks.

Ruby begins, "I…I don't know. She was wearing a mask, and she never said anything to me. But I know she fought with glass. I don't think that was her semblance though. Her clothing lit up whenever she attacked," Ruby explains.

Khazhak speaks next, "When I fought her, she fused her swords into a bow and conjured up arrows out of thin air for it. I think she uses some kind of dust in her fighting style. What I am certain of, is that she is either well-trained, or has a lot of combat experience that may rival even mine. Whoever that woman was, she is definitely strong," Khazhak says.

"Save for the glass, that sounds like the woman I fought the night we met Ruby and Khazhak's group," Goodwitch says.

"Imbedding dust into clothing is an age-old technique, it could've been anyone," Ironwood says.

"Wait, you think this girl's connected to Torchwick and the White Fang?" Ruby inquires.

" _It definitely explains a lot,"_ Khazhak mentally thinks, not voicing it with Ironwood in the room.

"It's possible…" Opzin begins, hand on his chin while Ruby looks off to the side. "…But we still lack the required evidence to link the two together," Ozpin says as he and Ironwood look at each other.

"Actually, I…I think I remember her saying something about a hideout or something, in the southeast, just outside the kingdom," Ruby says, pointing her thumb behind her.

" _Putting a lot of trust in Ozpin there, little rose. Alright then, I'll play along,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself. "I heard her say the same thing, right before Ironwood entered the room and we got distracted long enough for her to escape," Khazhak says, shooting a glare at the general.

"Interesting…" Ozpin says, smiling at them for telling him that.

"I thought you said that the intruder never-," Goodwitch begins as Ozpin walks up beside her.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Ruby and Khazhak. Why don't you two go and spend some time with your teams. You both have a big day ahead of you," Ozpin interrupts her.

"Anytime," Ruby says as she turns and begins to walks away.

"Professors…Ironwood," Khazhak bids them farewell, although he says Ironwood's name with contempt all over it, and turns to follow Ruby.

"And Miss Rose, Mr. Rairyu," Ozpin begins, getting their attention. "Please try and be…discreit about this matter," Ozpin tells them.

"Yes sir," Ruby replies while Khazhak just nods and they leave the room.

When the elevator hits the ground floor, Khazhak and Ruby exit the elevator and walk back to their dorm rooms. Along the way, Ruby glances at Khazhak.

"You really don't like Ironwood, huh?" she asks.

"No, I don't. I'd much rather throw him out Ozpin's window and watch him go splat," Khazhak replies, clasping his hands together.

"Is that how…how you feel about me?" she mutters out of nowhere.

"What? No, I could never hate you, little rose. I trust you," Khazhak says, rubbing her head, and making her smile at the gesture.

"Heh-heh, thanks Khazhak," Ruby says before getting bold and wrapping her arms around Khazhak's right arm.

"Um…why are you holding my arm?" Khazhak asks confused.

"J-just because," Ruby mutters, blushing madly.

"Um…okay," Khazhak relents to the gesture and they continue in this position until they reach Team RWBY's dorm since both teams are waiting inside. "You should probably let go now before Yang sees you," Khazhak says.

Ruby quickly lets go, "Right! Sorry!" she quickly apologizes before using her scroll to unlock the door.

The second the door opens, the other members of their teams suddenly bolt to the entrance and into their faces.

"What happened?" Yang questions them.

"Um, well, uh, heh-heh, ha," Ruby nervously laughs before she begins to speak.

 _…Back in Ozpin's office…_

After Ruby and Khazhak left, and soon after them Ironwood after his little tantrum, it is just Ozpin and Glynda.

"What do you think we should do now? I doubt James will listen to you," Glynda notes.

Ozpin sighs, "I'm aware, however until we know more, we can't just act rashly. We need a proper plan," he says.

"Would this plan involve Teams RWBY and KEPL?" Glynda asks.

"You and I both know that we can't keep them from finding the answers themselves. They've already begun, and I'm sure they won't stop until they finish it," Ozpin says.

"But they're just students. They're not ready for this," Glynda retorts.

"None of us are ever truly ready for this, Glynda…With what they told us, I'll bet they'll be heading to the southeast no matter what we do…Which is why I have sent HER there ahead of them," Ozpin says.

Glynda appears a little stunned by this, "Ozpin, you can't be serious. We don't know if she's ready," Glynda says, concerned.

"She was trained by both you and Qrow personally, and has done this training for longer than any student has ever been here at Beacon. We can't keep her locked up in here forever. She wants to face him. It is her choice, not ours. She'll be fine. I owe it to her, to both of them after what happened…" Ozpin says as he pulls up a picture on his scroll, showing a man with black hair and blue eyes.

 _…In Team RWBY's room…_

The two teams go over what transpired in Ozpin's office. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss stand by Weiss' bed while Blake sits on it, and Lloyd and Reaper sit on Blake's while Khazhak and Porphyrius stand in the center of the room.

"That was a risky move," Weiss says, crossing her arms.

"No…I think you handled it well," Blake supports Ruby's decision.

"I agree. While we can't really trust Ironwood, I believe that we can trust Professor Ozpin with this information at least. He has always shown to truly care about his students," Reaper adds.

"Yeah, unlike old Iron-fart, Ozpin's soul isn't made of steel," Lloyd says.

"I hope so," Ruby says while Yang has a supportive hand on her left shoulder.

"I'm sure everything will be alright Ruby," Yang comforts her. "Oh! I know what will cheer you up!" Yang gets an idea and walks over to one of their desks.

"What's that?" Ruby asks as everyone turns to Yang.

"I don't know yet. Dad sent it to us. I thought we could open it up together," Yang says, holding a cylinder-shaped package in her left hand.

"Oh, something from home!" Ruby squeals.

Using her semblance, she bolts over to Yang and jumps onto her back, wrapping her legs around her waist. She starts quickly waving her hands at the package while Yang holds it out of her reach. A moment later, some grayish-black cylinder-shaped object falls out of the package as Ruby stops trying to grab it and holds onto Yang as everyone looks down at the package. The object starts BOUNCING up and down for a moment before expanding into a four-legged, furry creature. Everyone looks down more closely at it with mixed expressions of confusion, awe, or fear. The object turns out to be…a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, with a black-headed- tricolor coat, gray eyes, a short, stubby tail, and a white stomach. The corgi then barks twice at them. Yang and Ruby jolt up with joy, Blake and Weiss reel back in terror, and Team KEPL jump back in shock.

"ZWEI!" Ruby happily calls out the dog's name, indicating she knows it.

"He sent a DOG?!" Blake exclaims.

"In the MAIL?!" Weiss adds.

"I'd expect this kind of thing in cartoons, not in real life," Khazhak says, resting his head on his right hand.

"I'd expect Lloyd to do something like that," Reaper notes while Porphyrius nods.

"Hey, I resent that!" Lloyd retorts.

"Oh, he does stuff like this all the time," Yang explains while Ruby is holding Zwei in her arms like a baby as it lovingly licks her face.

"Your father or your dog?" Blake ask…as she hides on top of Ruby's bed.

"What's wrong Blake? You more of a cat person?" Porphyrius jokes, much to her displeasure.

Weiss leans in closer to the dog, "Are you telling me, that this mangy…" Weiss begins as she scowls at the dog. "Drooling…" he licks his nose as they keep staring. "Mutt...Is going to wiv with us foreva?! Oh, yes he is! Yes he is! Oh isn't he adorable? Ah! Ah!" Weiss suddenly starts making baby talk to Zwei as she pets his nose.

Porphyrius just looks wide-eyed, "I think we just found the Ice Queen's kryptonite," he mutters.

Lloyd just shudders, "I think I liked her better when she WAS the Ice Queen," Lloyd mutters back.

"Please keep it away from my belongings," Blake says as she sits on Ruby's bed as far away from Zwei as she can.

Then, the intercoms come one, "Would all first year students please report to the amphitheater," they hear Glynda's voice on the other end.

"Well, we can't exactly leave him here while we're gone for a week," Weiss notes as Ruby releases Zwei and the dog immediately runs up to Weiss's bed, trying to get to Blake, who cringes back like a cat.

Yang then pulls out a letter from the package.

"Look, there's a letter. 'Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care off. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang," Yang reads.

Zwei runs over to her and she points the opening of the package over him, and suddenly a large number of cans of dog food fall out of the package, burying Zwei until his head pops out.

"How the hell did all of that fit in there?" Khazhak asks, surprised by the amount of food.

"What is he supposed to do with that?" Weiss asks.

Yang shakes the package, and out comes a can opener that falls on Zwei's head, who continues panting with his tongue out like nothing's wrong.

"Does he even know how to use that?" Lloyd asks, scratching his head.

Yang then tosses the package and the letter away, "Welp, that settles it. Come on guys, Zwei will be here when we get back," Yang says as she leaves the room.

Weiss then walks around Zwei, "Oh, I'll miss you so much! We're going to be best friends! I can't wait to see you again! Yeah, you're such a…" Weiss makes baby talk to Zwei as she pets him and leaves while Blake avoids Zwei,by jumping off Ruby's bed and the desk to quickly run out of the room.

Again, Lloyd shudders, "Ugh! I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want the old, cold Weiss back," Lloyd says as he, Reaper, and Porphyrius leave.

"Come on, Ruby. Time to go," Khazhak says before taking his leave as well.

However, Ruby just looks at Zwei, humming in thought for a moment before gasping as she gets an idea and smiles.

A few minutes later, the two teams enter the amphitheater, although Ruby is now carrying a big backpack on her back with the school logo on it. The large room has the students of the four academies separate into four sections. From left to right of the stage, it's the students from Mistral, then Atlas, then Vacuo, and finally Vale. Ruby places her new bag with a pile of other bags before joining her team, with Teams KEPL and JNPR standing behind them

"Quiet. Quiet please. Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin," Goodwitch says while on stage before leaving and then Ozpin steps up to the microphone.

"…Today we stand together, united. Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, Vale. The four kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell, or who traded with who, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united, but this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today while the rest of the world celebrates peace, huntsmen and huntresses will work to uphold it. As first-year students, you'll be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsmen or huntress on a mission," Ozpin explains as screens pop up on the sides of the amphitheater, showcasing the various missions the students may take. "Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best," Ozpin ends his speech and leaves the stage as the audience applauds him.

The students begin separating to choose their missions for the week. Meanwhile, Team's RWBY and KEPL gather together.

"This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a huntsmen working in the southeast," Ruby says.

"Yeah, we'll follow them around by day and give them the slip at night," Yang adds.

"Two teams can't take one mission together, so we'll each have to take a separate mission that both take place in the southeast, and aren't too far away from each other so that we can link up," Khazhak says.

"Let's check search and destroy," Weiss suggests.

The two teams head to one screen that has a list of missions classified as "Search and Destroy" missions.

"Here we go. Quadrant 5 needs Grimm cleared out," Ruby says, looking at the screen.

"Well, it's in the southeast," Blake says.

"Sounds perfect," Yang adds while Khazhak looks at a different section of the screen.

"There's a scouting mission for possible Grimm activity in quadrant 6 in the southeast. That's not too far from you guys. We'll take that one while you take the one in quadrant 5 and we'll link up with you guys," Khazhak suggests as he registers his team for the mission.

Ruby then tries to register her team for the search and destroy mission, typing the team name in on the screen, but the screen then shows "mission unavailable for first-year students," showing she was rejected.

"Wonderful," Weiss sarcastically says, hands on her hips.

"Any other ideas?" Blake asks.

"We MAIL ourselves there," Ruby suggests.

"You're joking, right?" Porphyrius deadpans.

"Well, that's one option…" they hear a voice and turn to their left to see Professor Ozpin walking up to them. "Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students," Ozpin explains before he smiles at them. "It seems that particular region is rather popular. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that the eight of you will make your way there no matter which jobs you choose," Ozpin says as Yang, Blake, and Weiss glare at Ruby who just nervously rubs her head, and the three members of Team KEPL give Khazhak an unamused look, to which he just crosses his arms.

"Whatever makes you say that?" Ruby asks, sounding innocent.

"I'm still curious as to how you all found yourselves at the docks last semester. I'm interested to know how you really learned about a 'hideout' in the southeast. And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported robots and rose petals in a dance club some time ago," Ozpin says, feigning the fact that he knows about their activities.

 _"Dance club? What the Hell is that all about?"_ Khazhak mentally asks himself while raising an eyebrow at Ruby.

"Uuuuummmm, uh, um well…" Ruby rambles off.

"I doubt I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for, so how about this? Instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them?" Ozpin says before typing on his scroll.

The screen then registers both Team RWBY and Team KEPL for the search and destroy mission in the southeast, much to the joy of the two teams as they look at each other, smiling, before turning back to Ozpin.

"We won't let you down. Thank you Professor," Ruby thanks him.

"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork and persistence have carried you far, but you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the kingdom will not care. Stay close to your huntsmen at all times, and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can have you sent back to Beacon if he finds your skills unsatisfactory," Ozpin says and then walks away while the members of the two teams look at each other with concern. Ozpin then leans back to them. "Good luck," he says before leaving.

The two teams are then seen walking outside the amphitheater in the courtyard, having already lost their previous smiles.

"That wasn't exactly uplifting," Yang mentions.

"But it's the truth," Blake adds.

"Ozpin is right guys. The kingdoms may be safe inside, for the most part, but outside their walls, only the strong may survive. What awaits us out there will not show us any mercy," Reaper points out.

"It's gonna be tough, but I know we can do it," Ruby says, trying to get their spirits up.

As their walking, a random student walks by Ruby, "Hey, Team CFVY is back!" he says.

The two teams look ahead to see many students piled around four other students walking by. These students are Coco Adel, Fox Alistair, Velvet Scarlatina, and Yatsuhashi Daichi, the four members of Team CFVY.

As the second-year team is walking by, Teams RWBY and KEPL walk up to them.

"Velvet, are you okay?" Blake asks out of concern, making Velvet turn to her.

"I'm fine. I had Yatsuhashi to look out for me," she answers as Khazhak steps up. "Oh, hello Khazhak. Good to see you," she nods to him.

Khazhak nods back, "Velvet, good to see you're doing well," he greets back.

Though the two have had little interactions with each other, because of Khazhak and his team saving her that one time last semester, Velvet is always happy when they talk.

Weiss then comes up, "Your mission was supposed to end a week ago. What happened?" she asks as the others walk up.

"N-nothing happened. It was just…there were just so many," she replies, getting more serious. "Oh but don't worry. You first-years are just shadowing huntsmen, so you should be fine. And plus, I know I don't have to be worried about you and your team, Khazhak. You'll have no problem wherever you're going," she says, trying to make their jobs sound less dangerous.

"Well, you're not wrong about that," Lloyd notes, smirking.

"Rrriiiiiight," Yang says, not feeling convinced.

"I should go. Be safe, okay," she says, waving goodbye as she leaves.

The members of the two teams look at each other for a moment.

"We can do this. We've never backed down before, and we're not going to start now," Ruby encourages them.

"Right," Blake agrees.

"No matter how difficult the path, one must continue moving forward if they wish to become stronger and achieve their goals,' as my father once said," Khazhak says.

"Besides, it won't only be us out there. We'll be fighting alongside a genuine huntsman!" Ruby says with glee.

"Yeah!" Yang says.

A few minutes later, the two teams suddenly go from feeling confident, to feeling dread. Ruby and Yang have looks that say "oh no" written on them, Weiss eyes' are as big as baseballs, Blake is hunched over in dissatisfaction, Khazhak looks like he's sick, Reaper has his head hanging down, and Porphyrius and Lloyd both have looks mixed between shock and fear.

"Why hello, boys and girls," to their horror, the huntsman they're shadowing…is Dr. Oobleck, who is wearing a long brown great coat, khaki buttoned up safari shirt, a pith helmet, and a large backpack. "Who's ready to fight for their lives?!" he asks with joy in his voice.

Khazhak thinks to himself, _"…Da-da-da, we're dead…"_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. I honestly think Ozpin set Oobleck up as their huntsman, one, because of his skills, and two, because he wanted to mess with them a little bit. Brilliant LOL. Anyway, who were Ozpin and Glynda talking about earlier? What awaits Teams KEPL and RWBY in the southeast? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	36. Chapter 31: Reasons and Revelations

**Here we are at Chapter 31. Let's visit good old Mountain Glenn, Remnant's largest graveyard. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 31. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 31: Reasons and Revelations**

… _With Teams RWBY and KEPL…_

Out by the landing platforms in front of the school, Teams RWBY and KEPL can only look in shock, fear, and worry as they find out that the huntsman they are supposed to be shadowing is Dr. Oobleck. And none of them are excited about that fact.

"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss questions, still reeling from the sight in front of her.

Dr. Oobleck starts walking back and forth in front of them, "Yes, I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary boys and girls, seeing as you've opted to shadow a huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you we will not be establishing a single base of operations, rather we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp at any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I've packed all of our essentials myself, plotted the air course, and readied the airship, and…" he quickly speaks before getting in Weiss' face. "It's 'Dr.' Oobleck. I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!" he corrects her before zooming away from her face.

"Uh…" Weiss replies as she looks at Blake who looks back.

"I didn't even get HALF of that. What did he say again?" Lloyd mutters to Porphyrius who just shakes his head.

"Come now children! According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind…schedule!" he says before zipping away to the bullhead airship on the platform in front of them.

"Anyone else feel discouraged about this situation?" Khazhak asks to no one in particular.

"Well, alright then. Looks like we're going to save the world with Dr. Oobleck-okay, yeah, when you say it out loud, it sounds worse," Ruby admits as everyone hangs their heads in displeasure.

"Save the World!" they hear behind them and they all turn around to see Team JNPR walking up to them, the voice belonging to Nora. "You're going on world saving missions without us?! I'm hurt, sad, maybe a little hungry…" Nora dramatically cries, her stomach grumbling. "That last one's not your fault though…Ren," Nora says, throwing an accusing glare at Ren who just crosses his arms and looks away.

"Sounds exciting. Where're you going?" Jaune asks.

"Oh, just outside the kingdom," Ruby replies.

"Hey, so are we," Nora says.

"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village," Pyrrha adds.

"We set out tomorrow," Ren says.

"Then you can party with us tonight," Neptune says as he and Sun join the three teams. "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges," Neptune says, looking cool, which make Jaune look on in awe with stars in his eyes.

"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk. So, we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, you know, normal," Sun explains.

"Hey, we don't always make stuff explode when we go into the city," Lloyd retorts until everyone gives him a deadpan look. "…Okay, you got a point," he relents.

"Well-," Ruby begins.

"Four minutes, ladies and gentlemen," Oobleck interrupts her from the airship, making Ruby cringe and everyone else look back.

Everyone then just gives each other looks, ranging from nervous smiles to calm expressions.

"Well, uh, wish us luck," Ruby says and then everyone depart and head to their respective areas.

… _A short while later,, outside the city…_

Teams RWBY and KEPL, along with Dr. Oobleck, are inside the airship, holding onto cables hanging above them as the ship flies over a forested region in the southeast section outside the kingdom.

"…I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter," Yang says to Oobleck.

"I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles," Oobleck says, being a little modest.

"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asks, scratching her head.

"Those are truffles," Blake leans in and corrects her.

"Like the sprout?" Ruby asks again, still confused.

"Those are Brussels," Yang leans in and corrects her.

"Appearances can be deceiving. A huntsman is a huntsman, no matter what they look like," Khazhak says.

"Exactly, Mr. Rairyu. And besides, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabbling's in the archeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw it fit to assign me to this particular…assignment," Oobleck says.

"What does history have to do with this?" Weiss asks.

"Why, what a preposterous question, you silly girl! Why history is the backbone of our very society. AND THE LIVER!...And probably the kidneys if I were to wager," Oobleck says, hand now on his chin.

"Meaning?" Porphyrius asks.

"The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, BUT, it is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures," Oobleck speaks.

"Mountain Glenn," Ruby answers, making Oobleck and Weiss look at her.

"The wellspring of lost souls," Reaper says, trying to sound poetic.

"That's right, it was an expansion of Vale…but in the end, it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city," Yang continues.

"An area engulfed in negativity, making it the perfect nesting grounds of sorts for Grimm," Khazhak says.

"Correct! And now it stands abandoned, as a dark reminder," Oobleck adds.

"And a likely place for a hideout," Blake finishes.

Oobleck fixes his glasses and smiles, "Precisely," he says.

Eventually, they reach the abandoned city, with its destroyed buildings and streets still standing, but with a complete loss of life in the area. The area itself looks as if a war happened here, but in a way…a war did happen here. The airship hovers over the ground, low enough for everyone to jump off without risk of injury. Everyone aside from Oobleck land and draw out their weapons in case they run into an unwelcome welcome party. Oobleck just drinks his thermos as the airship flies away to safety since it will not be needed for some time. They look around the area, seeing the emptiness of the former city, where the only sound is the wind breezing by them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you still may be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as huntsmen and huntresses has begun. From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" Oobleck asks, to which they all nod before Oobleck notices Ruby's backpack. "Ruby!" he yells, making her flinch back. "I thought I told you to leave all you bags back at school," he reminds her.

"But, uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't," Ruby makes a half-truth.

"She's not wrong," Oobleck mutters, hand on his chin, while everyone else just gives him a deadpan look. "Very well Ruby, leave your bag here. We can pick it up upon our return," he commands.

"But, I, wha-," Ruby stutters.

"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that can be so important to bring it wit-," Oobleck begins to question as suddenly Ruby's dog, Zwei, pops his head out from the bag.

"Really Ruby? Really?" Khazhak deadpans as everyone looks at her.

"Get back in the bag," Ruby whispers to Zwei, who just barks back.

"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle, teeming with death and hostility, and you brought…a dog," Oobleck inquires, becoming more serious.

"I, uh…" Ruby stutters, stepping back.

"GENIUS!" Oobleck proclaims.

"Eh?" the members of Team KEPL utter in confusion.

Everyone just look at Ruby, who shrugs her shoulders, until Oobleck zooms by, taking Zwei, and making Ruby spin and fall to the ground.

"Canines are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours!" Oobleck quickly shouts for joy while spinning and holding Zwei high in the air, who just barks back in response.

"…I'm a genius," Ruby says, feeling proud of herself, while everyone else just hunches over or facepalms.

"Genius isn't the first word I'd use," Porphyrius mutters.

"So, what are your orders Dr.?" Blake asks.

"Ah, yes, straight to the chase. I like it!" Oobleck replies, dropping Zwei. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior. One of which being…Grimm," he says.

"Uh, what?" Ruby asks as everyone just got confused.

"Grimm…A Creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards from us, at this very moment," he answers.

"WHAT?!" Yang shouts as they all look behind them.

Far behind them is a lone Beowolf, sniffing the ground as if it is searching for something. Immediately, the two teams pulls out their weapons, ready to kill it, but Oobleck stops them.

"Stop!" he tells them.

"Huh?" Blake asks as they look back to him.

"There are a number of reasons why a Grimm would congregate in this particular area. The most likely of which will be their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred, all qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent," he explains as they look back to the Beowolf.

"So…What now?" Ruby asks.

"We wait…We track. If this specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey," Oobleck answers.

"How long do we wait?" Yang asks, hands on her hips.

"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months-and there's the whole pack," Oobleck interrupts himself as the rest of the Beowolf pack join the first one.

"What?" Weiss asks.

"And now they've seen us," he says.

"WHAT?!" Weiss shrieks.

"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!" Oobleck repeats, right into Weiss' right ear.

"I take it tracking is out of the question?" Ruby asks.

"An accurate assumption, yes," he replies.

"What's the plan then?" Yang asks as the Grimm start charging in at them.

"We fight, that's the plan," Khazhak says as he cocks his blades' guns while Team RWBY just look at Oobleck.

"Show me what you're capable of," Oobleck says.

"Team KEPL, arm yourselves and rise up!" Khazhak orders his teammates as they ready their weapons.

"Cover your ears, Zwei!" Ruby tells Zwei as she stabs her scythe into the ground, preparing to fire while the dog covers his ears with his paws.

As the pack of Beowolves charge forth, Yang runs at one of them, and throws a right punch to its head that kills it, and then starts running away as a few other Beowolves start chasing her. However, three Beowolves stop to face Blake, who has her back to them. As they get close, Blake narrows her eyes and begins to draw her sword. When one Beowolf attacks her from behind with its claw, Blake uses her semblance to jump up above it, avoiding the attack, and simultaneously slicing the Grimm in half. When she lands, her swords now drawn, she makes two upward slashes at another Beowolf while flipping into the air before using her semblance again to propel her at the Grimm and slice it in half as well, and then cuts a third Beowolf in half with a downward slash, before flipping in the air and landing on her feet. Blake then looks back to see Weiss running from a group of Beowolves. One attacks her, but she spins over him while landing some strikes on it with her rapier, killing it, before she then flips over another Grimm, dealing a few killing blows on that one. She lands on the ground and then skates over the ground like she is ice-skating, and makes a quick series of slash attacks that cut right through five more Beowolves.

Meanwhile, Lloyd is standing idly by as six Beowolves run at him from different angles. As they are about to strike, Lloyd activates his semblance, getting encased in his steel skin armor, and allows the attacks to connect. However, the attacks deal no damage and he just pushes them off of him before he claws at two Grimm, killing them, and then grabs the skulls of two other Beowolves, and crushes their skulls. Throwing the bodies away, he grabs the heads of the last two, and then fires his guns point blank at them, killing them as well. He looks back to see Porphyrius firing his rifles at a small swarm of Beowolves charging at him, killing several of them while the rest close in. When they get close, one Beowolf tries to strike at Porphyrius, but he blocks the attack with his right blade and then stabs the Grimm in the neck with his left blade, killing it. He then spins his body before doing a cross slash at another Grimm, cutting it into four pieces, and next he jumps over a third Beowolf while spinning his body in the air and firing his rifles at its head, ending it. He looks to his left to see Reaper shoot his hidden knives at two Beowolves, stabbing into their backs. He then starts spinning his twin scythe, using the attached Beowolves as wrecking balls as he smashes them into several Beowolves that try to get close, knocking them all into various buildings and rubble around him. After that, he releases the two Grimm into the air and then decapitates them both when they fall to him. Meanwhile, Khazhak is just calmly walking towards another group of Beowolves, who start running at him. He then charges up his right sword for a moment.

"LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" He yells, swinging his sword and releasing a swarm of lightning bolts that kill all but one of the attacking Beowolves.

The last Beowolf continues to run at Khazhak and lunges at him when it gets close. However, Khazhak just stabs it in the stomach with his left blade, and then slams it into the ground before firing his gun, finishing it off. He then looks back to see more Beowolves running at Ruby. Ruby is firing her sniper scythe, killing a few of them while Zwei just runs in circles next to her. At one point, Ruby pulls her scythe out of the ground, aiming it behind her, and pulls the trigger. The high recoil shoots her towards one Beowolf that jumps at her, but she slices it in half when it gets close. After that, the area is clear and the two teams regroup with Oobleck.

"Hah, piece of cake," Ruby says, feeling confident.

"Don't get overconfident Ruby. This battle is far from over," Khazhak reminds her.

"Yes, do not celebrate just yet. For I am certain that this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?" Oobleck says.

As they move on, Dr. Oobleck is studying a set of plant growth in one spot while Ruby, Blake, and Khazhak cut through four more Beowolves around him. As he stands and drinks his thermos, he looks to see Team RWBY catching their breaths while Team KEPL remains unfazed thanks to their experience.

"Excellent work, boys and girls! Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal operations in this sector. Oh well moving on," he says as they are surrounded by the disintegrating bodies of Grimm before turning around to continue forth.

Ruby holsters her scythe back on her back as she and the other regroup and begin to follow him.

"Hey Doc, you know, I was actually looking forward to seeing pro huntsman in action. Like fighting, or at least, helping us fight," Yang says, aggravated.

Dr. Oobleck looks back to them, "Ah, but I am in action. Scouring the ruins of this once great city for any signs of irregularity. Not every mission is filled with daring and heroism, young ones. Sometimes, it's just a heightened form of extermination. Remember, this is a job, and you all signed up for it. I do hope you understand that," Oobleck explains to them.

Khazhak then steps up in front of her, hand grasping his left blade.

"Yang, huntsmen and huntresses are not who they are because of WHAT they do, but because of WHY they do it. My teammates and I know why we are here. Do you?" he questions her before walking away.

"Well, yeah…" Yang retorts, not sounding convincing. "O-of course!" she replies, but Oobleck remains unconvinced.

As the two teams continue to search the area and slay more Grimm, Dr. Oobleck decides to inquire as to their own reasons for being here.

"Tell me Yang. Why did you choose this line of work?" he questions her.

"Huh?" Yang asks, turning to him as he raises an eyebrow at her. "Well, to fight monsters and save-," she begins.

"No, that is what you do. I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a huntress," he clarifies.

Yang thinks for a moment, "The honest reason…I'm a thrill seeker. I wanna travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win, you know," she answers.

"I see," he replies, though he still looks like he's questioning her answer. Next, Oobleck is sitting on a destroyed ledge of a building, writing down notes while Weiss, a story below him, is fighting Grimm. "And you, Miss Schnee. A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly doesn't need the extra work. So, why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?" he asks as Weiss stabs a Beowolf, killing it.

Weiss retracts her sword, "It's exactly as you said, I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold," Weiss starts as she walks up to him. "Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life…It was my duty," she answers.

"…Interesting," he replies, questioning her answer as well before jumping off the ledge. Next is Blake. Blake slices through an old wooden door in half, making it fall and releases several small Nevermore Grimm out of the building. Blake backflips out of the way, and turning her weapon into chain scythe form, fires the pistol nine times into the air, making several dead Nevermores fall to the ground. Sheathing her blade, Blake walks up to the entrance as Oobleck looks inside. "And what about you Blake? You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose," he asks.

"There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality, corruption, someone has to stop it," she answers.

"Very well. How?" he inquires.

"I, uh…" she tries to speak, but cannot find the answer and hangs her head before looking back at him.

Oobleck just hums at her answer, not quite satisfied with it, before zooming away while Blake just hangs her head. He then goes to talk with Lloyd, who is just finishing off a Beowolf by ripping its body in two.

"So Lloyd, why did you decide to become a huntsman?" he asks, making Lloyd turn to him.

"There's a few reasons, but I guess the main reason is to regain my humanity," he replies.

"Explain," Oobleck says.

"When I was in the Atlas super-soldier program, they turned me into a weapon, one with basically no shred of humanity left in it. After I broke out and joined up with Khazhak, I decided that helping him would also help me. He gave me a name, so I will always follow him for that, but I have my own reasons for becoming a huntsman as well. I want to try and regain what those bastards stole from me…" Lloyd begins as he looks at his left hand. "I believe that if I can help people, then maybe I can feel human again, and regain my humanity," Lloyd finishes.

"I see," Oobleck replies, but this time feels more content with his answer. Next, he goes to Porphyrius, who jumps over a Beowolf while firing his rifles at it, killing it. "So Porphyrius. Any reason as to why you chose to walk down this path?" he asks him.

"Well…" he begins as he looks down. "At first, it was for revenge against the Schnee family for what they did to me and my family. However, Khazhak helped me realize the folly in that reasoning, so I thought about it. And eventually, I came to a decision. Khazhak was the first person to ever accept me for what I am, but I know there are others out there going thought the same crap that I went through. I don't want them to become consumed with hatred and vengeance, because that will only destroy themselves in the end. I want to help them realize that there is another path for them, one that includes meeting people that won't hate them for what they are, and may even understand their pain. I know that there are some that I can't save from this, such as those in the White Fang, but there are others that still have a chance. I want to become a huntsman…because I wish to end this cycle of vengeance," Porphyrius says as he looks back at Oobleck, determination in his eye.

"Interesting," Oobleck replies before walking away, a hand on his chin. Next, Oobleck walks over to Reaper as he pulls a Beowolf towards him with his knife and then slices it in half. "What about you, Mr. Reaper? What is it that drives you to become a huntsman?" Oobleck asks him.

"A good question? I guess it started…the day I put on this mask. When I was just a kid, it was just me and my parents, living our peaceful lives. Then one night, an arsonist decided to torch my home, while my family and I were sleeping in it. My father survived and saved me, but I had already suffered severe burns to my face and neck by the time I got out, and my mother didn't make it…The burns made it difficult for me to breathe, so they gave me an experimental mask to help me breath properly. However, after that day, my father was never the same. He started drinking when he wasn't focused on his work, and he couldn't even stand the sight of me because I reminded him of what happened to my mother. One day, he kicked me out and I was on my own. It was hard living on the streets, especially in my case, but I adapted and survived. As I got older, I began teaching myself how to fight, entered some underground fights for money, and used it for necessities as well as armor and weapons, eventually forming the gear I wear now. In my hometown, I could see how so many innocent people were being consumed by one thing: fear. The fear of criminals, terrorists, the Grimm, of death itself. I was once like that, and it was never pleasant. So one day, I decided that that fear had to be destroyed, and that I would become the thing that those who serve the darkness fear. That day, I made this mask, and became Edom Soul Reaper, the one true form of fear. I would bring fear to those who would harm the innocent, and remove the fear that plagues the weak. I wish to become a huntsman…because I want them to be free from that fear," Reaper replies.

"I see," Oobleck replies, and eventually makes his way to Khazhak Rairyu, who has just finishes cutting down three Beowolves and is retracting his blades. "Tell me, Khazhak, why did you decide to become a huntsman?" he asks.

Khazhak thinks for a moment before looking back at him, "For suffering," he vaguely answers.

"Could you clarify that for me?" Oobleck inquires.

"My father was a huntsman, and would always train me up in the mountains near our home, preparing me for the dangers of the outside world. On one day, we were getting back late when I saw smoke rising above the trees, where my home was located. We quickly ran back, but by the time we got there, we were already too late. My home was burning, my mother was already dead, and next to her body was a mangled and charred body of flesh that could have only been my younger sister. I was crying like I never cried before at their deaths, and then I heard a howl in the distance, Grimm. I was then consumed by rage and a thirst for revenge that I took off after them, not listening to my father's warnings. I found the Grimm nest and began killing one after another, blinded by vengeance. But eventually, I exhausted myself, making me an easy target for those that remained. They counterattacked and drained my aura as I tried to defend myself. Just as they were about to finish me off…my father stepped in and saved me…by taking the fatal blows himself. He managed to get us out of there, but he collapsed from his injuries as we neared our home, and died shortly after that…I lost everything that day, but I knew I had to keep going, just like my father taught me. That is why I fight Oobleck, why I want to become a huntsman. I'm not fighting out of some misguided sense of justice. I fight to ensure that the weak and the innocent do not have to suffer as I have suffered. I will fight in the darkness so they can live in the light," Khazhak answers.

"I see," Oobleck mutters. "You and your teammates have been through much, I see. I'm sorry about what happened to you four," Oobleck offers his condolences before walking away.

A few minutes later, Oobleck walks up to Ruby to see her playing with Zwei by holding s chicken on the tip of her scythe's jagged end over the dog as he tries to reach for it. Then she notices Dr. Oobleck and quickly puts them away.

"Sorry! Uh, are we ready to keep going?" she asks.

"…Nope, I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon," he says while looking up before throwing his bag over to Yang. "You six, set up camp in that building. Oh, and please do make sure there are no more of those…creatures," he starts, turning to them. "Your leaders and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby, Khazhak," he says and starts walking away with Ruby, Zwei, and Khazhak in tow while the others set up camp as instructed.

Ruby's group turn around the corner of a building and look out to see a forested region…with large Grimm traversing through it.

"Woah. What is that? It looks awesome" Ruby asks in awe.

"Goliaths…" Khazhak mutters, narrowing his eyes.

Before them is a herd of Goliath Grimm. Goliaths are elephant-like Grimm, with long curved tusks and armored, spiked bodies.

"That, my dear girl, is a Grimm," Oobleck replies as they watch the herd move by.

After a moment, Ruby takes out her weapon, "Let's kill it," she says, extending it into rifle form.

"Not a good idea Ruby," Khazhak stops her.

"What! Why?" she asks.

"Khazhak is right, Ruby. I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size," Oobleck explains.

"But, what if it attacks us?" she asks, concerned.

"You must learn to pick your battles, Ruby. And THIS is not one of them," Khazhak replies.

"Indeed. Fret not Ruby, those Goliaths are not concerned with us…Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless, or rather, not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you've fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years. And in their time between killing humans and attacking our borders, they've done one important thing. They've learned. They've learned that when they attack our borders, they're likely to die. And what we lack in strength, we make up for in will. And that killing one human will only bring more," Oobleck explains while one Goliath stares back at them.

"Then…Why are they still so close to the city? What are they doing?" Ruby asks.

"…Waiting," Oobleck answers.

"Waiting for when the time is right to strike," Khazhak adds as the Goliath that is watching them turns and continues walking with the herd.

Oobleck and Khazhak turn around and walk away while Ruby watches them for a moment, turns back to the Grimm herd, and then puts her weapon away and joins them.

"Dr. Oobleck?" Ruby gestures to him.

"Hm?" he replies, looking back at her.

"I was wondering…?" Ruby begins.

"Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?" Oobleck inquires as he and Khazhak turn to Ruby.

"A-a-actually, I was wondering…Why did YOU want to become a huntsman?" Ruby asks, curious.

"Look around and tell me what you see," Oobleck says, gesturing to their surroundings.

"Lots of old buildings, uh, empty streets…" Ruby says, looking around her.

"Khazhak, what do you see?" Oobleck turns to the boy.

Khazhak looks around, "Destruction, despair…death. That what you're looking for Dr.?" Khazhak replies, knowing what Oobleck was getting at.

"Close enough, Mr. Rairyu. I see lives that could have been saved," Oobleck answers before they begin walking again. "As a huntsman, it is my job to protect the people. And although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a MUCH larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I'm able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it into the hands of every student passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland, and I see lives that could've been saved, but I also see an opportunity. An opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger. I am a huntsman, Ruby, because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be," Oobleck explains before walking away back to camp.

Back at camp, the other six already have a fire going, with Blake crouched next to the fire, Porphyrius leaning against a wall behind her, the other standing around the fire.

"I can't believe we didn't find ANYTHING," Yang says as she walks up to the fire.

"We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side," Blake replies.

"Nothing ever goes according to plan, ladies. Remember that. All we can is adapt and move accordingly," Reaper advises them.

"…That's not what I meant," Weiss suddenly blurts out.

"Huh?" Blake asks.

"Earlier, about…upholding the legacy…There's more to it than that," Weiss mentions her reason for becoming a huntress.

"Yeah, no, me too. I mean, I don't know," Yang replies, feeling unsure of herself.

Blake stands up, "I don't know either. I know. I know what I WANT to do, but I figured I'd always take things one step at a time," Blake adds, unsure of her reasons as well.

"Well, it doesn't matter. We know why we're here, right?" Yang says, still a little unsure.

"You all still have much to learn," Porphyrius says as he moves from the wall to them.

"Yeah, you girls haven't been a team as long as we have," Lloyd adds.

"And you haven't been in as many battles as we have, and gained as much experience as us either," Reaper finishes off.

"So what? That doesn't make you guys better than us," Weiss snidely replies.

"Well, unlike you three, WE know EXACTLY why we want to become huntsmen. We have had plenty of time to think about that before we came to Beacon. We are sure of why we are here. As for our reasons, we pretty much spilled our guts on them. Although, Khazhak's explanation left out one important detail," Reaper says.

"What's that?" Yang asks.

"Brother blames himself for the deaths of his family…" Lloyd answers solemnly.

"Why would we think that? He said so himself, they were all killed by Grimm. That's hardly his fault," Weiss retorts.

"Yes, but in Khazhak's eyes, he was unable to prevent their deaths. He couldn't make it back in time to save his mother and sister, and his father sacrificed himself to save him. Khazhak blames himself for these events because, in his mind, of his own weakness and his own foolishness. That is another reason why he seeks to become a huntsman. As a means of atonement for their deaths," Reaper explains.

Blake looks down, "…Khazhak really has been through nothing but darkness then, hasn't he?" Blake mutters.

"We all have. And that is why we became a team. Because we understand each other, and have the same reasons as well as our own for becoming huntsmen," Porphyrius says.

The mood gets a little dark until Ruby, Khazhak, Oobleck, and Zwei return.

Oobleck quickly zooms in, "Ah, wonderful! A textbook campfire," he says, bringing his hands to the fire.

Ruby gasps, "Fire!" she says before sitting down next to the flames to warm up. "So warm," she says as Khazhak walks by her.

Oobleck pops up beside her, "Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow, and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?" Oobleck asks.

"Yo," Ruby says, raising her left hand.

"Me too," Khazhak says standing next to her.

Oobleck quickly zips away and then Ruby, Khazhak, and Zwei start walking to one section of the building that has a large hole overlooking a section of the city and the forest behind it. As they are walking, Yang stops Ruby.

"Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a huntress. I mean…what did you tell him?" Yang asks, as Ruby and Khazhak stop to look at her.

Ruby hums in thought and shakes her head, "No, he didn't. Weird. Oh well, goodnight guys," Ruby replies and walks off, but Khazhak stays for a moment.

Yang looks down, and Khazhak looks at her.

"Yang…" he begins, getting her attention. "Oobleck never asked Ruby why she wanted to become a huntress…because she already knows exactly WHY she wants to become a huntress. And because her reason…is the best out of all of ours," Khazhak says before leaving to join Ruby.

A few minutes later, Blake is setting up her sleeping bag by the fire, Lloyd is already asleep on his sleeping bag next to a wall behind her, Weiss lays down on her bag while Reaper sits up against a nearby wall in a meditative position, Yang is eating some food they packed while Porphyrius is checking his weapon. A moment later, the girls are laying on their bags set up around the fire like a triangle, while the guys are set up around them in a larger triangle. However, while the three members of Team KEPL have no trouble sleeping, the three members of Team RWBY are having trouble falling asleep, as they still have trouble thinking about why they want to become huntresses. Meanwhile, Ruby and Khazhak look off into the distance, with Zwei walking up to them as they hear a howl off in the distance. Zwei weeps at the noise, and Ruby pets him.

"Don't worry. Things will be better tomorrow," she says as she comforts him and they look out into the night.

" _Were it so easy,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself. _"But I can't shake the feeling that something big is about to happen real soon."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. This was a really long one, but now we know more about Khazhak's past, and even Reaper's past and why he always wears his mask. A few other secrets will be revealed in the coming chapters, so stay tuned. What awaits our two teams in the near future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	37. Chapter 32: A HOLE lot of Crazy

**Here we are at Chapter 32. Things are about to heat up at Mountain Glenn. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 32. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 32: A HOLE lot of Crazy (God Damn it Yang!)**

… _Back with Teams RWBY, KEPL, and Dr. Oobleck…_

Back at Mountain Glenn, Ruby is watching a lone Beowolf through the scope of her sniper scythe. The Beowolf looks at her for a moment before it turns and goes on its merry way. Ruby lowers her weapon and sighs before Khazhak pats her on her head, which cheers her up a little bit. Meanwhile, the rest of Teams RWBY and KEPL sleep around the campfire while Dr. Oobleck is sitting against a wall on a floor above them in their building. A moment later, Yang opens her eyes.

"Blake, are you awake?" Yang asks her partner.

"Yeah," she replies without opening her eyes.

"Why do you think he asked us about being a huntress? Like, what was he trying to say?" Yang asks.

"Maybe he was just curious," Blake suggests as Yang rolls to face her.

"You think?" Yang asks again.

"…No," Blake replies, opening her eyes.

"Or maybe because you girls haven't figured it out yet," Porphyrius says as he opens his eye to them.

Yang rolls to him now, "I thought you were asleep, Porphyrius," she says.

"Sleep is something we rarely got before we came to Beacon. We just got used to having only a few hours of sleep I suppose," Reaper replies as he lifts his head up to them.

"Yeah, but more importantly, I think he asked because you girls haven't truly figured out why you want to become huntresses. Either that or your missing something else," Lloyd adds as he wakes up.

Yang sighs as she lays on her back, "Weiss, are you awake?" she asks Weiss.

"Of course I'm awake! You guys are talking" Weiss retorts, making Yang wince and then roll her eyes at her response. "And I think he…When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it, but, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid, I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a…moral gray area," Weiss explains.

"That's putting it lightly," Blake remarks.

"Lightly doesn't even begin to describe what he did to ME," Porphyrius adds, narrowing his eye.

Weiss then sits up, "Which is WHY I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job back in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I REFUSE to let him be the end of it," Weiss says before laying back down. "All my life, I fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner…named Adam. More of a mentor, actually. He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be…not perfect for everyone," Blake begins as she looks up to the ceiling above them, seeing a faint image of a rose with its stem still attached above them. "I joined the academy because I knew that huntsmen and huntresses were regarded as the noblest warriors in the world. Always fighting for good, but I never really thought past that. When I leave the academy…What will I…How can I induce so many years of hate?" Blake asks herself.

"Not alone, for one thing," Lloyd mutters.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake," Yang tries to comfort her.

"But I am! I do it all the time. When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran! When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my…semblance. I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself. An empty copy that takes the hit while I run away," Blake woefully retorts.

"Well that's one thing we agree on," Porphyrius says.

"Porphyrius, leave her alone," Yang defends Blake.

"Hey, I don't tolerate cowardice. It was a bunch of cowards that killed my parents, and that will never change. But if you really want to change this world for the better Blake, then you need to STOP running, and START fighting for what you believe in. I'm not trying to bring you down. I may be harsh, but it's because I say what needs to be said. If you want to accomplish something, then you can only move forward if you want to succeed," Porphyrius advises them.

Blake thinks for a moment on this, "Well…Thanks, I guess. Could've worded it differently though," she replies.

"At least you had a choice in this. We originally chose this path simply because we had no other choices," Lloyd says.

"Because of what happened to you guys in the past?" Weiss asks.

"We had our former peaceful lives taken from us, so the only way to survive was to become strong. But, eventually, we all met Khazhak and he gave us a chance to use our skills for something bigger than ourselves. Something worth fighting for. And eventually, we found our own reasons for wanting to become huntsmen, thanks to his guidance. Khazhak is the only one among us who originally intended to become a huntsman, even before he lost his family," Reaper says.

They all remain silent for a moment before Yang speaks again.

"At least you guys have something that drives you," Yang starts before rolling onto her stomach. "I've just kind of always gone with the flow, you know? And that's fine, I mean that's who I am, but how long can I really do that for? I want to be a huntress, not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won't know what tomorrow will bring, and that will be a good thing. Being a huntress just happens to line up with that," Yang says as she rolls onto her side and rests her head on her hand. "I'm not like Ruby. She's always wanted to be a huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she dreamt about being the heroes in the books, helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she KNEW that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get to where she is today," Yang says.

Weiss sits up, "Well she's still just a kid," she replies.

Blake then sits up, "She's only two years younger. We're ALL kids," Blake says.

"You four are still kids. WE had to give up those roles a long time ago," Porphyrius notes.

"Well, we're not kids anymore. I mean, look where we are. In the middle of a warzone and armed to the teeth," Yang says.

"It's the life we chose," Blake adds.

"It's a JOB. We all had this romanticized vision of being a huntress in our heads. But at the end of the day, it's a job to protect the people. And whatever we want will have to come second," Weiss says as none of them notice Oobleck smiling above them at her words.

A while later, Ruby and Khazhak return, along with Zwei, as they switch night watch with Yang, and surprisingly Porphyrius. Ruby lays on one bag, and quickly falls asleep while Zwei sleeps next to her and Khazhak sits up against a wall behind her. However, as the fire dies down, she starts to shiver a little bit in her sleep. Khazhak wakes up from this and looks over to her. Khazhak then gets up, taking off his long jacket, and places it over her like a blanket. She stops shivering and shows a small smile on her face as she sleeps peacefully again. Khazhak allows a small smile to cross his lips as he gently strokes her head while she sleeps.

"Khazhak…" he hears and looks up to see Yang next to him.

"Shouldn't you be on night watch?" he asks.

"Porphyrius says he can handle it by himself for a little while. I needed to talk to you anyway," she says.

"About?" he inquires.

"I'm just gonna come out and say it…Do you like Ruby?" she asks, getting more serious.

"Worried about your little sister, huh? Not surprising," he says.

"I'm serious Khazhak. Ruby is my baby sister, I must always look out for her. That includes from any guy that might be interested in her," she replies.

Khazhak looks back at Ruby and thinks for a moment.

"…Honestly…I think I do. Before I met Ruby that night, my soul had been consumed by darkness. My light died out a long time ago, and I thought I would never get it back…But when I'm with Ruby, I feel like that light is slowly returning. She said she would help me regain my light, and I think she has almost succeeded. What I definitely know is this; I will do everything I can to protect her light. Will she have to see some of the things that I have seen in my travels, yes. But, I will not allow them to stamp out her light completely. No matter what. Know this Yang Xiao Long, I will never harm Ruby, no matter what," he replies with conviction in his voice.

Yang remains silent for a moment before smiling at him, "You never were one to lie Khazhak…I believe you. Then I guess you have my sisterly blessing," Yang says and turns to walk back to her post, but then turns around back to him. "Just know, that if you break her heart, I'll break you neck," she playfully warns him, making him chuckle as she walks away. She walks back to stand beside Porphyrius, who continues to look out into the night. She the looks to him. "Do you think Ruby will be okay with Khazhak?" she asks him, uncertain.

"Khazhak is a lot of things, Yang. He's killed before, Hell, all four of us have killed people before. But make no mistake when I tell you that he will NEVER hurt Ruby. He's coming to care about her more than even us, his own teammates, but that is fine. If you ask me, it's even better in a way," Porphyrius says, quieting her fears.

Yang smiles a little bit at this, "Thanks Porphyrius…You know, you're not so bad yourself," she says, nudging his shoulder.

"…No, if anything, I'm worse. I mean, look at me. I'm a half-breed with his Faunus traits sliced off and missing one eye. Can I even be considered a person anymore?" he asks.

Yang frowns at this, and then brings her arms around him in a warm embrace, surprising him.

"You ARE a person Porphyrius. You always will be. And I won't let you think otherwise," she replies.

Porphyrius looks on for a moment before he wraps his right arm around Yang, pulling her a little closer.

"…O-okay, Yang. If you say I'm a not a freak, then I'm not a freak," he replies.

"Thanks, Porphyrius…" Yang says as they look back into the night, but not removing their embrace.

A while later, Zwei's left ear perks up and he wakes up, looking at something in the distance. This wakes up Ruby who looks at him.

"Huh? Zwei, it's late. Go back to bed," Ruby says and yawns as she tries to go back to sleep. However, Zwei then runs off, making her fully awake now. "Zwei! Zwei!" she says, reaching out to him, but fails.

Ruby gets up and looks to make sure she doesn't wake up the others, or alert Yang and Porphyrius. Ruby the groans and picks up her weapon and runs after Zwei, not noticing Khazhak and Lloyd opening their eyes to see her leaving. Ruby comes around the entrance of the building and looks around.

"Zwei? Zwei, where are you? Zwei?" she quietly calls out to the dog. She then sees Zwei taking a leak at one lamppost across the street in front of her. "Huh? Zwei, this is a wasteland. You literally could've done that anywhere," she says as she walks up to him.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" she hears behind her and turns to see Khazhak, with his jacket back on, and Lloyd walking up to them.

"Oh, sorry if I woke you guys up. Zwei just had to go to the bathroom," she replies. "Oh, thanks for the jacket, Khazhak, that was nice of you," she says, blushing a little bit at his kind gesture.

"Um, no problem," Khazhak replies, rubbing his head.

Ruby then turns around and picks up Zwei, who barks at her.

"What was that?" they hear a faint voice in the distance.

This immediately puts them on edge as they cautiously walk back and hide around a corner of a building.

"What was what?" they hear a second voice speak.

They peak around and see two White Fang soldiers, armed with rifles, patrolling the area.

"I thought I heard a Beowolf, or something," the first soldier says.

The second one grunts, "Let's just finish our patrol and get back to base. This place gives me the creeps," the second one replies as they walk away.

The group waits for them to get further away before they decide to follow them. As the two soldiers are walking, Ruby tip-toes across the street with her weapon ready, while Khazhak calmly walks opposite of her, staying in the shadows, and Lloyd follows close behind him. They move from debris in the street to pillars and sides of old buildings as they continue to follow the White Fang soldiers. After the two soldiers walk past one corner, Ruby begins to follow but stops and loses her balance, only for Khazhak to grab her and pull her back behind the building. While Khazhak and Lloyd kneel behind her, Ruby picks up Zwei and puts his head out around the corner to watch the soldiers.

"Did they go in yet? One bark means yes," Ruby whispers to him. Eventually, they hear what sounds like a door closing and Zwei then barks once. Ruby then puts him back on the ground. "Oh, this is it. This is it!" she whispers for joy. Ruby then pulls out her scroll and tries to call her team, but her scroll shows a low signal. "Oh, man! Uh, ugh, come on. We gotta get the others," Ruby says as she picks up her weapon and they all leave to return to camp. However, as they are walking onto the street, the ground under Ruby begins to break and cave in. "Huh?" she almost freaks.

"Ruby!" Khazhak says as he moves towards her.

Suddenly, the ground under Ruby's feet collapses, and creates a large hole. Zwei falls into the hole, but Ruby catches him while holding onto the ledge with her left arm. At this point, Khazhak tries to reach for Ruby, with Lloyd holding onto his jacket and stabbing his right claw into the ground for leverage.

"Ruby, give me your hand!" Khazhak tells her. Ruby throws Zwei over him and he lands safely next to Lloyd, but then walks next to Khazhak, worried about Ruby. Ruby then tries to reach for Khazhak's hand, but the ledge collapses and she fall into the dark hole. "Ruby!" Khazhak calls out to her while Zwei barks at the hole. Khazhak stands back up and turns to Lloyd, giving him Ruby's weapon that didn't drop with her. "Lloyd, get back to camp and tell the others what happened here," he orders him.

"Wait, what are you going to…" Lloyd begins to ask only to watch Khazhak jump into the hole to rescue Ruby. "…Do…I hate it when he does that," Lloyd mutters before he and Zwei race back to camp.

Meanwhile, back at camp, Yang and Porphyrius finish up their watch and walk back to the camp site as Yang stretches her arms.

"Hey Weiss, it's your…" Yang trails off as she sees that Ruby's bag is empty. "Ruby?" she wonders where her sister is.

Porphyrius looks to see that Khazhak and Lloyd are gone too.

"Khazhak and Lloyd are gone, too. That's not good," he says.

"Hey, where's Ruby?" Yang asks her teammates.

Blake then gets up along with Weiss as they hear some knocking.

"What?" Oobleck asks from around a corner.

Suddenly, Zwei and Lloyd then race into the camp in between them, with Zwei running to Yang and Lloyd running up to Porphyrius.

"Zwei?" Yang asks, kneeling to the dog as he whimpers.

"Lloyd, where are Khazhak and Ruby?" Porphyrius asks.

"We got a big problem," Lloyd replies.

"What's going on?" Blake asks as she stands up.

"Grab your weapons," Oobleck instructs them and they look to him. "Your leaders may be in trouble."

Back in the underground city, Khazhak lands on one building and looks around, looking at his surroundings. He then moves and jumps off the building and starts running through the shadows in the caves as he searches for Ruby. Eventually, he comes across two White Fang soldiers, standing watch. He silently walks up behind them. He then stabs one through the chest, alerting the second one, and then fires his left sword gun at the second guard's leg, making him fall to the ground screaming in pain. Removing the first guard from his sword, Khazhak walks over to the second guard and picks him up by his neck.

"You see a little girl in a red hood by any chance?" he asks menacingly as he tightens his hold on the goon's neck. "Answer correctly, and I may let you live."

The goon gasps in his grip, "Alright, yes, yes! We found some kid in a red hood, and gave her to a couple other soldiers. They're taking her to the boss," he says.

"Good answer," Khazhak replies.

"Now let me go, you little punk," the guard pleads.

"If you insist," Khazhak replies.

Khazhak then releases the guard, only to knee him in the face and then grab his head and smash his skull into some rubble, breaking his skull. Khazhak then moves further into the complex as he continues to search for Ruby. While this is happening, Ruby is being dragged by her arms as she slowly wakes up, being taken somewhere. She looks to her right to see one White Fang soldier directing another piloting an Atlesian Paladin as it picks up a large crate. She then looks to her left to see two other soldiers loading some gray cylinder device with wires on the side onto the freight car of a train. The two guards eventually stop walking.

"Hey boss! We found something you might want to see!" one soldier wearing glasses over his mask calls out.

"Is it good or bad Perry, because let me tell ya, I have had a day," they hear a voice reply.

"Uh, it's a little girl," he replies, as Ruby looks to see who he's talking to.

A person walks out of the train, and reveals himself to be Roman Torchwick.

"That would be bad," Roman says while taking out his cigar and throwing it to the ground.

Back at the surface, Oobleck and the rest of Teams RWBY and KEPL follow Zwei as they come to the hole in the street that Khazhak and Ruby went down in.

"Oh no," Blake says, worried about Ruby.

"Did Ruby and Khazhak really fall?" Weiss asks as she walks up to the hole.

"Well, Ruby fell down, and then brother JUMPED down into the hole after her," Lloyd clarifies for her.

"Fall?" Oobleck asks as he zooms up by her.

"Down there," Weiss says, gesturing to the hole in front of them.

"Oh my," Oobleck says, looking down the hole before he turn around. "Of course. Of course! Of course! Of course!" Oobleck repeats, getting louder with each repeat.

"What is it?!" Blake ask with concern.

"How could I be so stupid?!" Oobleck says, walking behind them.

"Dr. Oobleck, what's wrong?" Yang asks this time, with worry as well.

Oobleck then quickly appears right in front of her. "Mountain Glenn! Yes, an expansion of Vale that was inevitably by Creatures of Grimm!" He says faster than ever before getting in Blake's face next. "Previously home to thousands of people," he continues, counting his fingers before getting back in Yang's face. "Working people, commuting the city to the main city developed a subway system to the inner city." He quickly continues before getting in Weiss' face this time. "Grimm's attacks increase, population in danger, now desperately searching for shelter," he says before going to Reaper this time. "City evacuates into metro tunnels, and what do they FIND?!" he quickly says, now standing in front of them before getting in Zwei's nose this time. "The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!" he answers his own question while Zwei licks his hand.

"Doc, care to fill us in here," Reaper asks.

Oobleck grabs her shoulders, "My dear, we're not just looking for an underground crime network. We're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!" he screams.

"They've been working in caves?" Blake asks as Oobleck zooms by her.

"No, no! Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. It worked for a short period of time, thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense, and unique transportation. The city developed an elaborate subway system to carry citizens safely from the new territory to the main kingdom. Sadly, without the many natural barriers Vale had to protect its borders, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the start," Oobleck explains and then they all walk closer to the hole while Oobleck turns to it. "And as the end drew near, the citizens of the territory made one last attempt at survival. They took up shelter BENEATH the city, in massive caves that they had cleared out for the subway, and they had cut themselves off from the surface," Oobleck explains.

"You mean, like an underground village?" Porphyrius asks, confused.

"In a matter of speaking, yes. Uh, uh, a safe haven…until…an explosion opened the mouth of another cavern, filled with subterranean Grimm," Oobleck says, shaking his head. "After that…the kingdom officially sealed off the tunnels…creating the world's largest tomb," Oobleck sadly says as everyone looks down into the hole.

"Huh, sacrifice the few to save the many. Something those in power always loved to do when they wanted to save their own sorry cans," Lloyd angrily says.

"Never mind that now. More importantly, if Ruby and Khazhak are down there…" Oobleck begins as they look at him while he takes out his thermos and extending it into a long staff, revealing it to be his weapon. "…We must find them."

Meanwhile, back down below, Khazhak has just finished killing three more White Fang soldiers before he looks around for a moment and then starts running again.

"Hang in there Ruby. I'm coming for you…" he says, determination clear in his voice. _"I won't let anyone hurt you. I swear it."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Next chapter will have some fights, and a few surprises I believe. Will Khazhak find Ruby in time? What awaits them below the surface of a dead settlement? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	38. Chapter 33: Full of Surprises

**Here we are at Chapter 33. Now for some big fights, it's about time. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 33. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Full of Surprises**

 _…With Khazhak…_

Khazhak slashes through two more White Fang members, leaving them dead, as he runs through more of the underground city. At one point, he hears what sounds like machines being operated and moves to hide in the shadows, just as he comes across the White Fang's operation.

"A train, huh. Well, it looks like now we know what they've been up to lately. Now, where's Ruby," he mutters as he looks around, but then he hears some faint laughter and looks ahead to spot a red cape he knows all too well, and a familiar guy with orange hair. "Ruby! And Roman as well. Well, time to throw a monkey wrench into their machine," Khazhak says as he stands up, and charges up his semblance. He then hears and explosion and looks to the side to see the two teams and Oobleck making their way to Ruby. "About time," he says and looks back to Ruby to see her making a break for it from Roman. As soon as he sees the crook and some White Fang goons aiming their weapons at her, he makes his move.

Meanwhile, Ruby is looking behind her for a moment as she's running before she looks forward to see four White Fang soldiers in her path, all with guns pointed at her. She skids to a halt and braises for the shots. However…

"LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" someone yells as a swarm of lightning bolts strike the soldiers, sending them flying out of her way. She looks up to see Khazhak land in front of her, and he turns to her. "Ruby!" he calls out as he races to her.

"Khazhak!" she replies and runs into him, giving him a big hug to which he returns. "What are you doing here?!" she exclaims.

"I jumped in after you fell, but I told Lloyd to go and tell the others what happened. Speaking of which…" he says as he turns to see the others catch up to them.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaims, happy to see her sister as she pulls her into a tight embrace, swinging her body around.

"Are you okay?" Weiss asks, concerned, as they surround her.

'I'm fine. I'm fine! But listen…" Ruby begins as Yang releases her. "Torchwick's got all sorts of weapons and robots down there!" Ruby sasy, pointing behind her.

"What?" Blake ask as she grabs Ruby's weapon and hands it to her.

"Androids, mechs, they're all loaded up on the train cars," Ruby explains.

"Ah, that's ridiculous. These tunnels are sealed. Th-these tracks lead to a dead end," Oobleck says.

They then here a loud screeching noise, followed by Roman's voice.

"Get to your places, we are leaving now," they hear him says.

Suddenly, the train ahead of them comes to life and starts moving, its horn being heard as it begins to pick up speed.

"Well, it sounds like they're going SOMEWHERE!" Yang says.

"We need backup. Let me call Jaune," Ruby says as she pulls out her scroll and calls his number, but the attempt fails since they're underground. "I can't get through."

"We're on our own then. What do you think we should do, brother?" Lloyd ask Khazhak as he eyes the train ahead of them.

"Looks like we only have one option," Khazhak says.

Ruby turns around and readies her weapon, "We're stopping that train," she proclaims as the others nod to her answer.

The train moves through the tunnels, showing different freight cars, with one car loaded with Atlesian Paladins on it as it speeds away. One White Fang soldier on lookout feels some shaking on the train.

"Huh?" he says as he looks back and sees rose petals from behind the train. He then pulls out a communicator. "I think they're on the-," he begins before he gets knocked out by Oobleck hitting his head with his thermos.

At the front of the train, Roman is looking at some computers until the doors behind him open and another White Fang soldier appears.

"Boss, they made it on the train!" he says.

Roman groans and looks at him, "Then grab some cargo, and get them off the train!" he orders him, and the soldier nods before closing the door and Roman turns around. "Man, animals, every one of them," he says before looking next to the White Fang soldier standing next to him, this one having tusks under his mask. "Not you, though. You're, eh, you're great," he says.

Meanwhile, on the last car on the back of the train, Teams RWBY, KEPL, and Dr. Oobleck, have an entrance opened at the top of the car as they gather together.

"Hurry children. We must get to the front and stop this train!" he says.

"Uh, Professor…" Weiss begins.

"Doctor," he corrects her.

"What's that?" she asks, pointing to a gray cylinder object with red and blue wires on the side in the car they're standing on.

"That, my dear…appears to be a bomb," he answers, making them all reel back from the object.

Ruby then looks ahead of them, "We've got baddies," she says, pointing ahead.

They see many White Fang soldiers coming up onto the freight cars ahead of them and start walking towards them.

"Well, I didn't expect them to go-," Oobleck begins until they hear some sounds below them and look to see the bomb in the car starting up. "…Easy on us" he says before standing up. "Time to go!" he proclaims and they begin to run to the next car, but Oobleck stops Blake. "Blake, detach the caboose! It will kill us all!" he tells her.

"On it!" she says and jumps down in between the last car and the one ahead of it. She pulls out her sword and prepares to detach the car, but it decouples itself before she can do the deed. "Huh?" she says as she watches it fall behind them and then looks up. "It decoupled itself!" she shouts, getting their attention.

"What?" he asks.

"I guess he REALLY don't want us on this train!" Yang adds.

Oobleck looks back to see the car explode a moment later, hitting the ceiling of the tunnel and creating a giant hole to the surface.

"That's not good," he says, slowly shaking his head.

"What gave you that idea? The White Fang soldiers coming at us, or them detaching a car that explodes?" Lloyd rhetorically asks.

"We got another problem," Ruby says ahead of them as she and Weiss open up another car.

"Another bomb?!" Blake exclaims.

"This is really starting to look bad now," Reaper says.

Oobleck thinks for a moment before he starts running ahead of them, "No. No. No!" he says as he runs to the car ahead of Ruby and Weiss, and opens the top door to reveal another bomb inside it. "They all have bombs!" he screams.

The bomb in the car the students are on then starts up. They then look up to see their car getting decoupled like the first one. They run and jump off it and land on the car Oobleck is on and look back to the decoupled car.

"This doesn't make sense!" Yang says, flailing her arms.

"Uh, we got bigger problems right now!" Porphyrius gets their attention, pointing to the White Fang soldiers ahead of them.

"Get the human!" one female soldier shouts, pointing at them.

The two teams run ahead of Oobleck and stop, taking their combat stances and getting ready to fight. One soldier throws a kick at Yang, but she lifts her left leg to block it, punches his arms away, and then drops to leg sweep him off his one leg, flipping him in the air. In slow motion, as Yang prepares to punch him, she smiles and winks at him, before time becomes normal again and she smashes him into the car below. Next, Lloyd claws at one soldier, knocking him off the car and then grabs the arms of a second one before head butting him in the face with his own skull encased in steel, before kicking him off the car. Blake Then runs in between several soldiers, quickly swinging her sword at a few of them before she stops and swings her sword at one soldier on her right and then swings her sword at three more goons which knocks them off the train, and then finally hits a fourth one in the face, sending him flying while screaming off the train. After that, Porphyrius fires his rifles as several soldiers run at him, taking out four of them. The remaining five get close and one swings a sword at him, but Porphyrius ducks and spins his body to avoid the attack before he spin kicks him in the face, knocking him off the train. He then jumps over two more soldiers while making a cross slash that hits them and takes them out, before landing and doing a backflip over the third and performing two upward slashes with his blades that knocks him off the train. For the final soldier, Porphyrius just fires at his feet, knocking him off balance before kicking him in the air and off the train.

Meanwhile, Weiss then skates across the train cars, creating ice shards in her wake that take out many soldiers before she stops and takes a fighting stance. She then moves and spins her body and sword around in fats movements that knocks out four more soldiers. Following her, Reaper unleashes four of his skull phantoms that fly and scream around several soldiers, making them shake with fear. Next, he jumps in between them and starts spinning his twin scythe around, slashing each one of them and sending them flying before he jumps forward, sending out two more phantoms that hit four more soldiers and smash them off the train. Behind all that, Ruby cocks her sniper scythe before firing it behind her, sending her shooting forward. While in the air, her scythe hits one car, making it reel back before she fires it again as she approaches a group of White Fang soldiers and swings her scythe in a wide arc, adding a spin on the attack as it takes out the whole group, flinging them into the air along with some rose petals, and knocking them out. Finally, Khazhak fuses his sword into their dual spear form, and charges up his weapon as ten soldiers run at him. A moment later, right before they get close enough, he finishes his preparations.

"LIGHTNING DEVASTATION!" Khazhak yells as he spins his weapon before swinging it, releasing a buzzsaw of lightning that takes out the entire group, before he separates them back into their dual form.

Oobleck looks back as another car decouples itself and then explodes. The explosion creates a hole in the ceiling, allowing hordes of Grimm to fall into the tunnel and then give chase.

"Oh dear," he says as the Grimm race after them. "He's leading Grimm to the city!" he yells to the others.

"WHAT?!" Weiss shrieks.

"It's the cars! They detach and explode, creating openings for the Grimm!" he replies.

"That's insane!" Blake shouts.

"You do realize who we're dealing with, don't you?! He sort of lives for this kind of stuff!" Lloyd replies.

Oobleck looks back as another car decouples itself from the main train.

"We have to hurry!" he yells and starts running to them. "You three, go below and try and stop those bombs!" he says, gesturing to Yang, Blake, and Weiss.

"What about us?" Ruby asks.

"We're going to stop this train," he says, trying to look cool.

"Yeah, I know. I said that earlier," Ruby reminds him, making him lose his cool.

They all then run ahead while a few White Fang soldiers get in some Atlesian Paladins a few cars ahead of them, powering them up. They jump onto a car behind them and start running towards Ruby, Oobleck, Zwei, and Team KEPL as they run forward.

"Up ahead!" Oobleck says, pointing to one mech running at them. The mech jumps up, smashing through a walkway above the train before landing in front of them. "We've got a problem!" he says.

"You think?" Khazhak sarcastically replies.

Oobleck takes a drink out of his thermos before extending it and lighting a fire at the end. Zwei barks in front of him, and then JUMPS up, turning his body into a ball, as Oobleck winds back his weapon and swings it like a bat, hitting Zwei. Zwei then flies through the air while encased in fire, spinning like a ball until he slams THROUGH the Atlesian Paladin in a fiery explosion, sending it off the train. Zwei lands, unscathed, and watches the falling mech crash and roll on the ground before exploding. Suddenly, a second Paladin stomps next to him and he looks up as it aims its guns at him. However, before it can fire, Lloyd grabs Khazhak and throws him at the mech, fusing his blades into their greatsword form, and he swings his blade, hitting the mech in an electric explosion as it gets knocked off the train. Khazhak lands with style while the others catch up to him. They continue the fight up top for a few minutes, with Lloyd punching on mech to knock it off balance, Reaper using his scythe to take out one leg, and Khazhak swinging his greatsword to send it off the train. As they plow through their enemies, Khazhak stops as he suddenly feels something within him and looks back to the cars behind him.

" _This feeling. This…presence. I know this presence,"_ he thinks to himself before looking at his team. "Team KEPL, we need to spilt up. Porphyrius, you, Lloyd, and I will head into the cars to help the girls. Reaper, stay up here and assist Ruby and Oobleck. Move!" he orders them, to which they nod, and they head in their own directions. Khazhak, Porphyrius, and Lloyd land inside on of the cars. "You two, head forward to the front of the train. I'll head back to see if any of the girls had to stay behind for some reason," he commands them.

"Roger," Porphyrius and Lloyd reply, and move up the train while Khazhak moves back.

A moment later, Khazhak moves into another train car, only to get blocked by an unknown young woman. This girl, maybe a year younger than him, has long, black hair reaching her lower waist, with some strands being held in white ribbons and resting over her shoulders. She has golden eyes, and a slightly pale complexion. She is wearing a white dress/shirt hybrid of sorts, with the sleeves being large, and wrapping around her chest, showing a black strapless shirt underneath. The dress shirt exposes her hips, and has some fabric at the front that goes over a short white skirt that reaches her thighs. Around the skirt is a long piece of fabric, similar to Porphyrius', but in white and is undamaged. She is also wearing thigh-high high-heeled shoes that are white and end diagonally at her thighs. On her sleeves are golden dragon designs looping around the sleeves. On the lower section of her shirt is an emblem of a golden dragon wrapping its body around a card that has an "A" at two corners and an orange flame under them and in the center. The rest of her clothing show gold edging. On her hips is a gold belt, with two pouches hooked on the sides, containing what appears to be two decks of cards.

Khazhak eyes the girl warily, feeling slightly uneasy by her presence as she slowly and calmly walks towards him.

"So, you another one of Torchwick's lapdogs?" he asks while taking out his swords.

"No. I don't work with criminals like him. But, I'm not here to stop him if that was your next question, Khazhak Rairyu," she answers in an almost angelic voice.

"You know my name?" Khazhak asks, feeling more on edge.

"My associate and I have been watching you and your comrades for some time. They decided I should come here and test you," she replies.

"A test, here and now of all places? Hate to break it to you, but I don't have time for this," Khazhak spitefully replies before charging up his sword. "LIGHTNING SLASH!" he yells, swinging his right sword, unleashing his lightning wave attack at her.

However, the girl calmly takes out one card, showing the Japanese symbol for "lightning" on it. The symbol glows yellow and she throws it, the card releasing yellow lightning that cancels out Khazhak's attack when they connect. Khazhak raises his eyebrow for a moment before he runs at the girl and swings his right sword at her, only for her flip over the attack and him and land behind him. Khazhak, using the momentum of the swing, swings his left sword this time, but the girl jumps, rolling over the strike before taking out another card, this one showing the Japanese symbol for "fire" on it, and flings it at Khazhak, glowing red before exploding when it hits his body. The explosion pushes him back, but he remains on his feet and looks up just in time to see the girl throw three cards this time at him. Khazhak counters by slicing through each one when they get close, only for them to explode like smoke bombs when he hits them, temporarily blinding him. In the smoke, the girl runs at his left flank and throws another card at him, which explodes with fire when it hits him, making him fly to one side of the car. Getting back up while shaking his head, Khazhak turns to see the girl prepare for another attack, taking out three cards in each hand. Khazhak runs at her again, and she throws the three cards in her left hand at him, these ones showing the Japanese symbol for "ice" and glowing a light blue. Khazhak steps out of the way, noticing them exploding into ice when they hit the wall behind him. However, before he can get close again, the girl throws the other three, with one of them hitting the ground in front of Khazhak's feet, freezing them in place. Next, the girl runs to Khazhak's left and throws another fire card at him, but he shoots it before it can hit him and then stabs his right sword into the ice, destroying it and freeing him. He looks at the girl as they remain a few feet from one another.

"I see now. You infused dust into your cards. The symbol and the color show what kind of dust you put into them," Khazhak notes.

"You always were the observant one, Khazhak," the girl replies, smiling at him.

"You don't know me," Khazhak retorts before charging up his left blade this time while the girl just watches him. "LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" he yells, swinging his blade, sending a swarm of lightning bolts at the girl.

However, the girl throws several cards that collide with the bolts, exploding with different dust products in mid-air. Khazhak uses this chance to shoot both his guns at the girl, but she defends herself by taking out ten cards, which suddenly become harder while in her hands, and uses them as a shield to block the attacks. The girl then throws the cards at Khazhak, who slices down each one except for one that manages to graze his left cheek, though his aura protected him.

 _"That felt like a thin, but strong blade of a sword slicing at my cheek,"_ Khazhak notes, noticing the sharpness of the card that hit him.

The girl runs ay Khazhak this time, and rolls under him when he swings his swords at her, before kicking at his back, to which he deflects with his own kick. The mysterious girl jumps back before throwing six cards into the air, and then pulls out a pair of sword hilts with golden gems on the handles' ends. The cards land on top of one another's' sides before securing themselves in the sword handles. The cards harden again, and they become a pair of card swords of sorts. The girl runs at Khazhak, and they clash their swords against each other. Khazhak swings with his left, only for the girl to block with her right sword, then vice versa, before he spins his body and makes an upward slash that she deflects with her right blade. The two back away from one another, staring each other down for a moment.

 _"I don't have time for this. It's like she knows my every move…Well, if that's the case, then I'll just have to use different moves,"_ he thinks to himself before readying his blades.

The unknown girl jumps at Khazhak, throwing a jump kick, which he steps out of the way, before turning and swinging her swords while throwing a hook kick at him. Khazhak jumps over her to evade those attacks and land with his back to her. The girl moves to stab her swords at Khazhak, but Khazhak turns while throwing his swords at her. This makes the girl swing her blades up to deflect them, giving Khazhak the chance to grab her arms, applying enough pressure to force her to drop her swords. Khazhak then wraps his arms around hers before head-budding her several times, disorienting her. Khazhak then releases her arms and throws a powerful double punch in her face that sends her flying back and landing on the ground. Khazhak picks up his swords and walks over to her as she gets up to one knee and looks up at him when he places his left sword near her neck.

"Now then, care to tell me who you are?" Khazhak questions her.

"…You really don't recognize me, do you?" the girl replies, somewhat sadly.

"That's why I'm asking," Khazhak replies.

"Do you still wear that dragon necklace, the one with the dragon holding a blue gem in its claws?" the girl asks.

Khazhak goes wide-eyed, "How do you know about that?" he asks. The girl then slowly reaches around her neck and pulls out a necklace from under her shirt. Khazhak's jaw drops somewhat when he sees the design of the necklace. "It…It can't be," he mutters.

The girl's necklace reveals itself to be exactly like Khazhak's dragon necklace, with the only difference being that the gem in the claws is gold rather than blue in color.

"You gave this to me on my ninth birthday, and I gave you yours on your tenth birthday back home," the girl replies as she stands up to face him. "Though this isn't the best time, it is good to see you again…big brother," the girl says, smiling at him while shocking Khazhak.

Khazhak drops his swords, "…Voshkie'ahk? Is that…Is that really you?" he asks as if he has seen a ghost. _"She is supposed to be dead, but…those eyes, her face, she looks just like an older version of her. And I made that necklace for her myself with Mother's help. You can't find it anywhere on Remnant. Her presence, now that I can properly feel it, feels just like hers too."_

"I know it's hard to believe, and I know you have a lot of questions, but right now isn't the time. You have to go help your friends," Voshkie'ahk says and then turns to leave.

"Voshkie!" Khazhak calls out her old nickname.

She chuckles, "I did miss that nickname you gave me. We'll see each other again soon, Khazzy, I promise," she replies, using her old nickname for him, before throwing one card to the floor, exploding in smoke.

Khazhak gets blinded by the smoke for a moment, before it dissipates and sees that Voshkie'ahk is now gone. Khazhak just looks at where she last stood for a moment before shaking his head.

 _"I…I'll sort this out later. Right now, my comrades are my main objective,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself before continuing on his way to the cars at the back of the train.

Meanwhile, With Weiss, she continues her fight with the White Fang Lieutenant. Weiss readies her rapier as the Lieutenant runs at her. She swings her sword in a circular motion, making a blue circle appear before her. The Lieutenant spins his body and swings his chainsaw at her, but a barrier appears and blocks his attack. Weiss swings her blade upwards, knocking him back. The Lieutenant swings his chainsaw down on her again, but she slides it across her sword, making it hit the ground. Weiss then stabs her sword in his face, making him stumble back, before jumping and flipping around him while swinging his sword at his face again. Weiss lands behind him, and the Lieutenant swings his chainsaw at her, but she backflips under the swing, and counters with two more strikes to his head. She makes another stab at him, but he blocks it, and then swings her sword upwards, knocking him back onto the ground. She flips over him, and he spins his body to swing his chainsaw as he gets up at her, but Weiss ducks under it before evading another strike and blocking a third attack at her, but gets pushed back. The lieutenant makes a front kick at her, but she jumps over him to evade it, and he ends up kicking a box in the car. Weiss pushes off from the ceiling above him, stabbing her sword at him, but he jumps back to dodge it. Weiss rolls onto her feet and attacks him again, but he blocks, and then she flips in front of him before jabbing her sword at him, hitting him back onto the floor. The Lieutenant rolls back onto his feet while Weiss conjures up a time dilation glyph under her feet, increasing her speed as the clock in it speeds up. Weiss runs at him while using her semblance to conjure up several glyphs around her opponent. Weiss then charges at him, using the increase in her speed to shoot around him, pushing off each glyph while striking him as she moves by him a few times. After a number of quick strikes, Weiss knocks him to the floor and pushes off the ceiling to strike him again. He avoids the attack, and then Weiss jumps into the air to attack him again. However…

The Lieutenant looks at her, "Come here, princess!" he says, reaching out and grabbing her face with his left hand.

He then slams her body into the floor, breaking it, and then throws her into the air before swinging his chainsaw at her to slice her in two. But, just before the attack connects, a clawed hand shoot out and stops the chainsaw from hitting her while another pair of hands grab Weiss. The lieutenant looks to see Lloyd holding the chainsaw with his claws while Porphyrius places Weiss up against a crate behind him.

"As brother would say, that's no way to treat a lady," Lloyd says before kicking the Lieutenant away from them.

"Weiss, you okay?" Porphyrius asks her.

Weiss groans, "I'm fine, I think," she painfully replies before clutching her head in pain.

Porphyrius looks at her for a moment before he stands and walks in front of Lloyd.

"Lloyd, move on ahead. I'll take care of this guy and protect Weiss," Porphyrius says while activating his weapon.

"Uh, are you sure dude? I can easily take this guy out," Lloyd replies, but then Porphyrius gives him a look that tells him otherwise. Lloyd then shrugs, "Alright, he's all yours," Lloyd says before running ahead to the front of the train.

Porphyrius eyes the lieutenant before looking back at Weiss, "Weiss, did you mean what you said before, about making things right with your family?" he asks her.

Weiss looks at him, "…Yes. I meant every word of it," she replies.

Porphyrius then nods at her, "Then that's enough for me," he says before looking at the White Fang Lieutenant. "You know, it's because of punks like you that the rest of us Faunus get a bad name," he says.

The Lieutenant looks at him shocked, "You mean you're a Faunus? You're a Faunus and you're protecting a Schnee. Then you will die with her, traitor!" he yells.

"The only traitor I see here, is you," Porphyrius retorts.

The Lieutenant then runs at him, swinging his chainsaw, to which Porphyrius jumps over him, spinning his body while firing his rifles at the Lieutenant. The shots stagger him, but he recovers and swings his chainsaw again as Porphyrius lands on his feet, only to bend his body backwards to avoid it and fire his rifles at him again. The Lieutenant stumbles back before regaining his footing and charges at Porphyrius. Porphyrius runs at him as well, but he then slides on his legs, ducking under another swing made by the Lieutenant, while striking his legs with his blades. The attack makes the Lieutenant lose his footing and fall on his face as Porphyrius gets back up and turns to him. Porphyrius then starts up his semblance and aims his rifles at the lieutenant.

"Dark Void Anchor!" he yells and fires his gravity shots at him.

The Lieutenant gets up and turns only to see the shots hit his chainsaw, making him drop it to the ground due to the extra weight. Disarmed of his weapon, the Lieutenant can only look up to see Porphyrius perform a spin kick that knocks him back to one side of the car. Porphyrius then jumps at him, spinning his body so that his metal backpack slams into him, sandwiching him to the wall. Porphyrius jumps off him and the Lieutenant falls onto the floor, unconscious. Porphyrius then walks over to Weiss and helps her onto her feet.

"Thanks for helping me out back there, Porphyrius," she replies.

"Weiss, I know we didn't start off at the best of circumstances, considering our families' history with each other, but I can't hang on to the past," he says to her.

Weiss looks at him with hope in her eyes," Then, does that mean you forgive me after how I acted before?" she asks.

Porphyrius then slowly nods, "Yes, I forgive you Weiss. I can never forgive you father for what he did to me. But, as far as I can tell, you are NOT your father. And I know that's a good thing," he says, making her smile at him. "Come on, we need to move to the front of the train," he says and they start running to the cars ahead of them.

During this time, Blake had already defeated Roman Torchwick and had one boot on his chest and her sword aimed at his throat.

Roman grunts, "Eh, still feisty. Soooo, what are we gonna do now? Do you really think a little bow on top is gonna make people forget what you were…What you've done?" he asks while Blake stares angrily at him.

Blake is considering ending his life, but a hand to her shoulder makes her look back to see Lloyd standing behind her with a serious expression on his face.

"He's beaten. Let it go. Don't give in to your anger," he advises her.

Blake looks at him for a moment, and calms down before turning back to Roman.

"So, what's it gonna be Blake?" Roman asks her.

Blake replies by sheathing her sword and kicking him in the face, knocking him out. She then turns back to Lloyd.

Lloyd smiles, "Couldn't have said it better myself. Come on, we need to meet with the others at the front of the train," he says and they move ahead.

Meanwhile, back with Khazhak, he moves through the cars until he reaches one of the rear cars. When he gets inside, he finds Yang on the floor, unconscious. It looks like she had been defeated. However, the other figure he sees is one he was not expecting. A woman in black and red clothing, with a Grimm mask, and wielding a long red odachi blade. The woman swings her sword, creating a black and red portal in front of her, but before she enters, she looks back at Khazhak when he enters the car.

" _This day is just full of surprises…So you've returned to see her after all this time…Raven,"_ Khazhak notes while narrowing his eyes at her.

The woman just looks at him for a moment before she turns and continues walking to the portal. At this point, Yang regains consciousness, getting up just in time to see the woman enter the portal and the portal disappearing. Yang shakes her head, and looks to see Khazhak next to her.

"Khazhak, what…what's going on?" she asks.

Khazhak shakes his head and looks at her, "Nothing important. Let's go, we need to meet up with the others," he says and they then run to the front of the train.

Khazhak and Yang reach the front of the train and meet up with the others, except for Zwei and Oobleck. However, they all see that the way ahead…leads to a dead end.

"What'll we do?!" Blake shouts.

Ruby looks at Weiss, the two smiling at the silent conversation, while Khazhak looks at his teammates with the same expression. Weiss gets ready to encase the group in ice for protection, but not before Khazhak protectively wraps Ruby in his arms, Porphyrius does the same thing with Yang, and Lloyd activates his semblance just as Weiss encases them in ice, shielding Weiss and Blake with Reaper behind them, wrapping their arms around them. The train hits the dead end, hard, and everything is covered in smoke and debris. Ruby eventually comes to, looking around to see they're back in Vale city, in the town square, with city alarms going off around them. Ruby looks around to see the others shaking their heads, reeling a little bit from the collision and coughing from the smoke. She sees Porphyrius checking on Yang while Lloyd checks on Blake, and Reaper looks over Weiss. She turns her head to see Khazhak shaking his head next to her before looking back at her. Ruby winces as she sits up, and they see the people in the city gathering around the square, with confused looks on her faces. A moment later, they feel rumbling under them, and suddenly a King Taijitu burst from the hole behind them, immediately throwing the civilians into a panic as it and other Creatures of Grimm emerge from the tunnel and start chasing the citizens. Legions of Beowolves, Ursai, and Death Stalkers start running through the plaza, creating chaos. The two teams get up and see the chaos around them. Ruby and Khazhak look on, shocked, before looking at each other a moment and then looking ahead of them, serious expressions of their faces.

Khazhak thinks to himself, _"Crap…"_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. So it appears that Khazhak's sister, Voshkie'ahk, is still alive after all these years. What's more, the meeting between him and Raven Branwen seems peculiar in a way. What do you think of Voshkie'ahk's weapon choice, Dust-infused cards? I also have her semblance ready, but it's not the right time to show it. How is Voshkie'ahk still alive? Can Teams KEPL and RWBY save Vale from the Grimm? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	39. Chapter 34: Breach

**Here we are at Chapter 34. I wasn't originally planning on doing this now, but it is the Volume 2 finale, so might as well get it out of the way. Pay attention to the ending of the chapter. I'll bet you'll have comments for it. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 34. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 34: Breach**

… _With Teams KEPL and RWBY in Vale…_

Teams RWBY and KEPL remain surrounded by Grimm as they stand in the middle of the town square. They all look around for a moment, with their weapons drawn.

Khazhak motions to his teammates, "Team KEPL…Wipe them out," he orders.

The King Taijitu roars, and the Grimm charge at the two teams, with the eight members readying their weapons to fight. First, Ruby jumps up and stabs her scythe blade into the ground as Beowolves encircle her. Ruby then runs up and spins her scythe, still stabbed in the ground, while she kicks the Grimm away as she moves in a circle. Next Yang jumps up, landing on the head of one Creep before using it as a trampoline to shoot up into the air. She fires her gauntlets, the rounds tearing into several Grimm while she is in the air. However, as she cocks her weapons, she turns around to see three Nevermores crash into her, sending her falling to the ground. Luckily, Porphyrius sees this and jumps up to catch her bridal-style before landing on the ground. He lets her down, and she winks at him before getting back into the fight. Porphyrius then looks to see many Creeps charging him from all angles. However, Porphyrius spins his body while firing off his rifles, making a torrent of bullets cut through the Grimm before they get close to him. Meanwhile, Blake ducks under one strike from a Beowolf before slashing its head upwards and then stabbing it in the head. She then kneels on the ground and fires eight shots from her pistols, killing eight Creeps that try to attack her. With Reaper, he spins his twin scythe, cutting through two Beowolves before he shoots his hidden knives at two more, impaling them in the shoulders, Using them as weights, Reaper spins them around, turning them into wrecking balls, knocking away a number of other Grimm around him before releasing the two captured Grimm. Next, Weiss slashes two Beowolves before stabbing a third, and then conjures up a glyph before making a giant ice sword in thin air, swinging it to take out several more Grimm. Lloyd claws at one Creep before smashing his foot on another Creep's head into the ground, then grabs the heads of two Beowolves, using his strength to crush their skulls and throws the bodies away, before jumping up into the air and activating his semblance.

"STEEL SMASH!" he yells, smashing his steel fist into the ground, taking out more Grimm.

Yang hits the hood of one car on the street, lifting it up before she punches it at a few more Grimm, knocking them aside and crushing another. Behind her, Khazhak calmly walks in front of a horde of Beowolves running at him and charges up his swords.

"LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" he shouts, swinging his swords and releasing a swarm of lightning bolts that kill the Grimm.

Ruby spins around while slicing her scythe at two Beowolves and then looks up to see the King Taijitu bearing its teeth at her and roaring. Ruby steps back a moment before she hears a loud boom sound behind her. She and the King Taijitu look up to see Nora, flying in on her war hammer, before she smashes it on the head of the large snake-Grimm, crushing it into the ground. Nora lands on the ground, next to her team that have just shown up to join the fight.

"Let's move!" Pyrrha says and they all run forth, while Jaune groans that Pyrrha stole his thunder.

Nora smashes her hammer into one Grimm while Ren kicks two before using the blades on his pistols to slash three times at another Grimm.

"Okay, who's first?" Jaune says while running before he stops as something big and black lands behind him. He turns around and looks up to see a big Ursa behind him, roaring at his face. "Oh-hoh-oh okay. You're first, huh? Heh-heh okay, no that's, that's fine," Jaune nervously says while stepping back from the Grimm.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha using her weapon in javelin form, stabs one Grimm before slashing another, then stabs a third before picking it up and throwing it over her. She then stabs another Creep in the mouth before looking over to see Jaune's situation. Jaune slowly walks back as the Ursa walks up to him.

"Totally fine. Done this before. Done this before…" Jaune reassures himself and then sighs.

Screaming madly, Jaune starts swinging his sword like a maniac repeatedly at the Ursa, dealing a flurry of hits onto the Grimm. Jaune stops a moment later and looks to see the Grimm fall onto the ground dead, to which Pyrrha smiles at her leader. Behind the dead Grimm, Sun and Neptune finally arrive on the scene.

"Nobody move! Junior detectives!" Sun says, showing a badge.

Neptune then pulls out his badge, "We have badges so you know it's official," he says and they fist bump each other.

Porphyrius lands behind them, his blades impaling another Beowolf, and then looks at them.

 _"Morons,"_ he thinks to himself, shaking his head.

However, they all look up to see one of Ironwood's ships fly over the city, along with several smaller ships flying below it. Sun and Neptune look up, jaw-strucked, with Sun dropping his badge. Khazhak looks up to see the ships above him.

 _"Oh, NOW the cavalry shows up. Let's see if those ships and walking trashcans of his can be of some actual use,"_ Khazhak mentally says before slashing one Grimm aside without looking at it.

Everyone else looks up to see the ships as well. One Ursa tries to attack Ruby from behind, but it gets shot by some turrets one of the ships, saving her, and Ruby waves her hands in thanks. The ships open up their rear doors, allowing many Atlesian Kight-200s to drop from the ships and into the city. Once they land, they start firing off their rifles at any Grimm they see, quickly turning the tide of the battle. As one Grimm gets shot, it lands on the ground in front of Cinder's group. Cinder nods her head to them, and they separate to kill the Grimm, looking to maintain their cover. Mercury runs up and jump kicks one Ursa away before running to fight more. Meanwhile, Emerald walks down one street as the Grimm in front of her notice her presence. Emerald pulls out her weapons, a pair of green pistols, and starts firing them at the Grimm as they run at her. The shots take out most of the Grimm, but one Ursa Major withstands the shots and gets close enough to strike. He swings his claws at her twice, but she backflips away from the Grimm. She then extends a pair of curved blades under the pistol barrels. She runs around the Ursa Major, slashing at its tough hide, and then swings her blades, with chains appearing from them and extending their range, at the Grimm. She jumps over it while doing a few more spinning attacks and lands on the ground behind the now dead Grimm. Back at the tunnel entrance, a damaged Atlesian Paladin climbs out and then Zwei is seen jumping off of it before hitting a Beowolf in the head, knocking it away. Zwei then looks up as a bullhead airship flies by, showing Professor Port along with the second year team, Team CFVY, on board. She ship hovers over the city, and then Team CFVY jumps out of the airship. They land on the ground, with Velvet and Fox immediately running into the fray while Coco casually walks behind them, and Yatsuhashi stands behind her.

Yatsuhashi looks around as a number of Beowolves land around him, and then draws his large sword. As the Grimm move to attack him, he spins around and smashes his sword into the ground, creating a shockwave that knocks all the Grimm away and destroys the ground around him. Meanwhile, Fox and Velvet fight off some Grimm, with Velvet kicking away two Beowolves while Fox punches one Beowolf and then impales a Creep with his arm blades. Even while blind, Fox can notice the several Grimm in front of him, and charges at them. He punches and then backflip kicks one Ursa Major into the air. Before the Grimm hits the ground, Fox runs at it and throws a flurry of quick slash attacks with his arm blades at it before knocking it back into the air. As the Grimm falls closer to him, he reels back and double punches the Grimm, making its body bloat up for a moment before flying back and then exploding like a balloon, sending bones shards scattering everywhere and impaling the Grimm around it. Some of the shards fly at his teammates, but Yatsuhashi shields Velvet while Coco swings her handbag to knock them out of the way and continues walking casually ahead of them.

"Nice hustle Fox," she compliments him, playfully patting his butt as she walks ahead of him. "Good job," she says as he jumps back behind her. She walks up to a large Beowolf standing in front of her, roaring at her. Coco moves her aviators down to look at it. "YOU just destroyed my favorite clothing store," she says, readjusting her aviators and spitting on the ground. "Prepare to die," she says.

The large Beowolf swings its claw at her, but she deflects it away with her handbag and then kicks the Grimm in the groin area, sending it onto the ground. The Grimm looks up at her as she leans on one leg in front of hit, before Coco smashes her handbag onto its skull, killing it. She looks up to see a few more Grimm running at her. She swings her handbag around, knocking out two Beowolves and hitting a third, before kicking the third one away. She then jumps but as a Death Stalker tries to impale her with its stinger. Velvet then comes to her side, holding a small case as she's about to open it, but Coco stops her.

"Hey, come on, you used one whole semester building that up," she says, making Velvet hold back. "Don't waist it here," Coco says as she walks ahead of her.

Suddenly, her handbag opens up and transforms into a large, yellow colored gatling gun. She then fires her gatling gun, shredding the Death Stalker to pieces, then takes out several other Grimm and finally shoots it into the air at three large Nevermores, killing all three of them. The bodies of the dead Nevermore fall behind Team CFVY as they walk through the square, like a movie scene.

Meanwhile, Zwei walks up to Dr. Oobleck as Professor Port joins him. They look down one street to see a number of Grimm running at them. Using their weapons, they fire off several fireball-like shots at the Grimm, killing all of them. As they fall, Professor Goodwitch is seen walking ahead of them, using her telekinesis to take out two Grimm before she aims her riding crop at the tunnel entrance. Pieces of the street and the building behind the entrance starts to float back to the hole, and in a few seconds, the hole is sealed up, looking like it was never there in the first place. And with that, the battle is over.

The student teams, teachers, and friends join together in the square, and look to see Emerald and Mercury giving Roman Torchwick over to two Atlesian knights as they arrest him.

"Oh I can't believe that you've caught me. You've really taught me the error of my ways," he mockingly says as they take him onto their ship. "Hey, hey! Watch the hat!" he says.

Ruby looks at Emerald and Mercury as they walk up to her, all of them smiling. The people around them congratulate each other on a job well done as peace has been restored to the city.

… _A little later, back at Beacon…_

Teams RWBY and KEPL sit at the edge of one of the landing platforms overlooking the city as the Atlas ships fly over it.

"Well, we did it," Yang says.

"We did it," Blake adds.

"Could have gone better, but considering the circumstance, I'd say a job well done," Porphyrius notes.

"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm going to be seriously disappointed," Weiss says.

"Weiss, a two-headed snake literally crushed a bakery. I wouldn't count on it," Yang retorts.

"Yeah, not to mention that we couldn't stop this attack in the first place," Reaper adds.

"Plus, I mean, we didn't solve everything. A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't even know why they did this, or who that mystery girl was," Ruby notes.

"Well, not every story has a neat and tidy ending," Weiss replies.

"Nothing ever goes according to plan. All we can do now is take what we're given and make the most of it," Khazhak explains.

"We might not have all of the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars. And I think that is something we can be proud of," Blake says.

"Yeah, we threw a monkey wrench into their plans. I don't believe we should have anything to worry about right now," Lloyd reassures them.

Ruby nods her head, "Yeah. And if anyone tries something like this again, we'll be there to stop them," Ruby says while Yang stretches her arms and falls back onto the ground.

"Yay, teamwork, commodore, good guys, go team, alright good job," Yang exhaustingly says as Zwei joins her before leaning on one elbow. "So, what now?" she asks.

"I'd suggest training for the tournament, but I think we have that covered at this point," Weiss replies.

"The best form of training is actual combat,' as my father once said," Khazhak adds.

"So then…" Blake begins.

"Time for bed?" Ruby suggests.

"Oh please, yes," Weiss agrees.

"Absolutely," Blake adds.

"I'm gonna sleep forever," Yang says as the girls get up to leave.

Team RWBY begins to walk away, but Ruby notices Team KEPL not joining them.

"Hey guys, you're not coming?" she ask as her team stop with her.

"No, we'll be heading back shortly. Just feel like we need a few more minutes of some fresh air," Khazhak says as he walks up to Ruby and affectionately pets her head. "Don't worry, little rose, we'll be fine," he says as he stops petting her.

"Oh, okay. We'll see you later then. Get a good rest," She says and the four girls, with Zwei, leave.

After they leave, Reaper speaks up, "Alright Khazhak. What's really going on?" he asks him, knowing something is on his leader's mind.

Khazhak turns to them, a serious look on his face, "I saw HER today, back on the train when I went looking for Yang," he says, making his teammates go wide-eyed.

"So, SHE has returned, huh? Why would she come back after all this time?" Reaper asks.

"Probably to save her daughter, if only this once that is. But that's not all…" Khazhak trails off, looking down to the ground.

"What is it, brother?" Lloyd asks.

"…It's my sister, Voshkie'ahk…She's alive…." Khazhak admits.

… _A little later, in Ozpin's office…_

Ozpin is in his office, looking out to the city while holding his coffee mug in his hands as he holds a conversation with the Vale Council, the leaders of the kingdom.

"Ozpin? OZPIN!" one male member calls him.

Ozpin turns in his chair to them, "Yes, councilmen," he says.

"You've left us with no choice. The Vytal Festival Tournament cannot be broadcast, let alone held, if we are unable to ensure the safety of the citizens," one member says as Ozpin sips his drink. "Ahem, Therefore, we have reached out to the Atlas Council, and together have decided that the best option, id to appoint General Ironwood as head of security for the event," they announce.

"Thank you councilmen," Ironwood says as he appears on screen. "Our kingdom is happy to lend as many troops as it takes to ensure that this event runs as smoothly and SAFELY as possible," Ironwood says.

"And we thank you, General," the council replies.

"Will THAT be all?" Ozpin asks, tired of this conversation.

"For now…But after this festival comes to a close, we are going to have a serious discussion regarding you position at Beacon Academy. General Ironwood's reports of these last few weeks have left us somewhat…concerned. I'm sure you understand," the councilmen say before leaving the screen, leaving only Ironwood on the other end.

"This is the right move, Ozpin. I promise, I will keep our people safe. You have to trust me," Ironwood says and the screen turns off.

Ozpin turns to look out his window. However, a moment later, the door to his office is kicked off its hinges, again, revealing Khazhak to be on the other side.

"You know, I just had that fixed because of your last surprise visit," he deadpans.

"Oh, bite me," Khazhak retorts as he steps into the office. "Let me guess, Ironwood threw you to the wolves to save his own hide," Khazhak says.

"He is only doing what he believes is the right move, even if it is misguided," Ozpin replies.

"Every move he makes is NOT the right move. They only end in causing more pain for others while he reaps in the rewards. Maybe I should make due on that promise I made with him a while back, and publicly humiliate him," Khazhak suggests.

"Khazhak, I am asking you to hold off on that. Please," Ozpin asks him.

Khazhak sighs, "Fine, but he's on thin ice at this point," Khazhak says.

"Now, what can I do for you this time?" Ozpin asks.

"This attack was done by some thugs with guns and ski masks. It was thoroughly planned out. Makes me wonder if they had other motives aside from just attacking Vale. Care to explain Ozpin?" Khazhak asks as he walks right up to his desk and crosses his arms.

"I'm afraid I'm just as much in the dark as you are. But, I can assure you that the local authorities and the huntsmen will do everything they can to solve this mystery," Ozpin replies.

However, Khazhak doesn't buy it and grunts, "Hmph. You don't want to give me an honest answer, fine. Just know this, Ozpin…" Khazhak says as he puts his hands on the desk and leans in real close to stare Ozpin right in the eye. "If you don't do something about this mess, and Ironwood screws it up again…Then I will," he says and then takes his leave.

Once he's gone, Ozpin sighs, "He certainly has inherited your penchant for brutal honesty…Azraq…"

… _Later that night, in the school courtyard…_

Khazhak stands in front of the statue in the courtyard, looking up at the shattered moon in the night sky. It has been a long day for him and for his comrades.

"Something is going on around here. Mountain Glenn, the White Fang, Roman Torchwick. We've stopped them for now, but I can't help but feel that this is just a prelude…" he mutters before he hears something behind him and looks back to see a red and black portal appear. Then, the same woman he saw on the train when he went searching for Yang walks out of the portal. "…Raven…" Khazhak says as he turns to face her.

The woman takes off the Grimm mask, revealing a youthful face similar to Yang's and the same hair, except for her having black hair and red eyes.

"Khazhak…It's been some time. We have a few things to discuss," Raven says.

"Yes we do…" Khazhak says before he walks up to her…and then surprisingly kneels before her and bows his head.

"…My Master…"

* * *

 **And that's the chapter, and the Volume 2 Finale. How's that for a bombshell for you? The two teams stopped the first attack, but will they be ready for what the future has in store for them? More importantly, now you know the relationship between Khazhak and Raven, a master and her apprentice, but there's still more to it than that. What awaits Team KEPL in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	40. Chapter 35: Thunder Dragon vs Sun Dragon

**Here we are at Chapter 35. Something to keep you hold over before we get into Volume 3. For those of you that haven't heard yet, in the upcoming movie Ready Player One, Ruby's weapon, Crescent Rose, will be making a cameo appearance in the movie. How COOL is that?! I may just go see it to see if I can pick her weapon out in the movie. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 35. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 35: Thunder Dragon vs. Sun Dragon**

 _…Several days after the breach…_

It has been over a week since the breach in Vale, and things have finally calmed down enough to return to normal. With Roman Torchwick locked up, crime in the kingdom has gone down substantially. Classes were cancelled for a few days so things could get cleaned up after this huge fiasco, but now classes are back in session. For Teams RWBY and KEPL, the break was much appreciated, though they wished it didn't happen in the first place. For now though, they could focus on finishing up classes and preparing for the upcoming Vytal Festival tournament. Currently, Khazhak is in the training room, doing an intense workout that involved pushups with an extra sixty pounds on his back. He had his jacket and shirt off and his swords are laying on a chair nearby.

"87…88…89…90…91…92…93…Ugh," Khazhak groans, but not because he is getting tired. He can keep going with no trouble at all. What IS annoying him is that there are several girls peeking in from the doorway, watching him workout. _"So much for peace and quiet, and privacy. Ugh, I'd rather be back in the middle of the breach battle right now than deal with this,"_ he thinks as he finishes up his push-ups before taking the weight off his back.

Back with the girls, they all go dreamy-eyes while looking at him, "Can you believe he's still going like that? I think I'm in love," one girl says.

"You THINK, I KNOW I'm in love. He's the strongest student in the school, and his grades are really good too from what I here. Oh, if only I had the courage to have asked him to the dance a few weeks ago," another girl adds.

"Hands off, he's mine," a third says.

Khazhak then straps some weights on his legs and back, totaling sixty pounds again, and starts doing some pull-ups next. While he's doing this, he can feel all the girls standing outside the room staring at him from behind, and tries not to let it get to him, though in all honesty, it is starting to get annoying.

"23…24…25…26…27…28…29…30…" Khazhak mutters in rhythm.

"Hey, Khazhak!" he hears behind him and glances back, without stopping, to see Yang moving her way through the crowd and waving to him. "Mind if I join you?" she asks.

"Knock yourself out, as long as you stay out of my way," Khazhak says as he finishes up a few more pull-ups before he drops down, done with his exercise.

"Sweet," Yang says and goes to work on one machine designed for chest presses.

"Yang Xiao Long just walked in there like it as no big deal. Khazhak didn't bat an eye," one girl from the crowd says.

"Do you think there's something going on between them?" another asks.

"I mean, that could be the case. They're both really well-fit and talented fighters. Their teams hang out a lot with each other. It's possible," a third girl says.

"No, it isn't," they hear and look up to see Khazhak, holding his shirt and jacket behind him as he walks towards the door way. "Yang and I aren't dating if that's what you're thinking, so get those ridiculous thoughts out of your head," he says as he walks through them, the girls moving out of the way to let him through.

"So, he's not going out with Yang? That means I might still have a chance!" one girl says.

"You have no chance. That is my chance you're talking about," one retorts.

"Actually, none of you got any chance with Khazhak," Yang says as she finishes her chest presses.

"What are you talking about, Xiao Long? Don't tell me you're actually interested in him?" one asks.

"The only thing I'm interested in with Khazhak is a fight to see who's stronger. The reason I said you've got no chance is because he's already got his eye on someone else. And for the record, it's none of you, and it's not me," Yang says as she stands up to move to her next exercise.

All the girls scream at this, "WHAT?! Who does he like?!" they all ask.

"Sorry, that's classified, and by classified, I mean that if you try and mess with the girl that he is interested in…then both Khazhak and I will make all of you disappear and make it look like you never enrolled in Beacon," Yang threatens them as her eyes turn red for added incentive.

Knowing that Yang would make good on her promise, the girls hightail it out of there while they can still keep their lives. Yang chuckles as she goes on to finish her workout.

 _"Speaking of which, it's high time we find out which one of us is the better fighter,"_ Yang thinks.

 _…The next day, in Goodwitch's class…_

The group of friends that is Teams RWBY, KEPL, and JNPR sit in Goodwitch's combat class as the teacher stands in the center of the arena.

"Now then, we have already chosen a few teams to represent Beacon, but we can't have every team here participate in the tournament, so there are only a few spots left. These next matches over the next few weeks will act as qualifiers of sorts to determine who will fight in the tournament. Now with that in mind, let's get these matches under way. First off, we'll have…Yang Xiao long from Team RWBY going up against…" Glynda begins.

"I choose Khazhak!" Yang suddenly calls out, interrupting the professor.

Goodwitch's eyebrow twitches for a moment, "Miss Xiao Long, please do not interrupt me. Secondly, Mr. Rairyu and his team have already qualified for the tournament. I recommend you choose someone from a team that hasn't qualified for the tournament," Goodwitch says.

"It's fine Goodwitch. I'm actually a little curious myself. Let's see which one of us is the stronger dragon. My storm, or your flames," Khazhak says as he glances at yang, who smirks in response.

Goodwitch sighs, "Very well, knowing you two, you'll just do it anyway. Fine then, the first match will be between Yang Xiao Long and Khazhak Rairyu," she says.

In the locker room, Khazhak prepares his swords until he hears someone approaching him from behind and looks up to see Yang coming towards him.

"Well, looks like we'll finally get to see who's stronger," Yang says, smiling with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, and after this match, I'll have beaten every member of your team, and brought my win count up to 22 wins, 0 losses," Khazhak says.

"Okay then, why don't we sweeten the game a little bit," Yang suggests.

"Are you proposing a bet?" Khazhak asks as he stands to face Yang.

"Yes. If I win, you have to wear a pretty pink jacket to school for a month," Yang says.

"Fine…But WHEN I win, you have to try Lloyd's home cooking," Khazhak replies.

"Um, that doesn't sound so bad actually," Yang says in confusion.

"Trust me, you'll find out soon enough," Khazhak says, chuckling as he walks past her to the arena.

A few minutes later, Yang comes out, seeing Khazhak standing on the opposite side of the arena, ready to brawl. Yang approaches her side and activates her gauntlets. Khazhak then draws his swords, but takes no combat stance while Yang takes her usual stance.

"Yang Xiao Long…Prepare to be judged," Khazhak says.

"Alright, let the match…begin!" Goodwitch announces.

Yang is the first to move as she rushes at Khazhak in order to land the first blow. However, when she gets close and throws a punch, Khazhak swings his left sword upward, deflecting the strike and making Yang stumble back a bit. Khazhak then rushes Yang and begins swinging his swords around in a tempest of steel. Yang moves to avoid each strike, but thanks to Khazhak's edge in reach and consecutive attacks, Yang get a chance to make a counter attack. Eventually, Khazhak makes a huge downward swing with his right sword, but Yang crosses her arms above her to block it. However, Khazhak then fires off a shot, breaking the block and making Yang stumble back again. Yang grits her teeth and retaliates by firing off some shots of her own. Khazhak fuses his sword into their dual spear form and spins his weapon around in front of him to act as a shield, blocking the shots.

Yang then runs at him, but then fires off her gauntlets behind her to send herself into the air and over Khazhak, landing behind him. Yang rushes at Khazhak again and throws a few punches to which Khazhak parries with his weapon. Khazhak separates his swords and ducks to spin around and do a low swing aimed at Yang's legs, but Yang side-flips over the strike and fires off another shot that Khazhak just manages to avoid by leaning his head to the side. He then counters with a spin of his right sword to force her to jump back. The two then charge at each other again. Each time Yang throws a punch, Khazhak blocks it with his swords, and each time Khazhak swings his sword, Yang either dodges it or pushes it back with her fists. At one point, Khazhak jumps back to gain some distance and then charges up his semblance. Yang waits for it, ready to counter it.

"LIGHTNING SLASH!" Khazhak yells and swings his left sword, sending out a wave of lightning at her.

Yang runs at it and jumps over it easily, only to get knocked back by a shot from one of Khazhak's guns. Khazhak fires off a few more shots, making Yang move to avoid each shot, and then goes in up close again. Khazhak fuses his swords into his greatsword form and moves in for an upward swing. Yang goes to meet him and throws a right punch, but lacks the reach and gets knocked up into the air by a swing from Khazhak's sword. Yang fires her gauntlets backwards, shooting her straight at him. However, when she reels back her fist for another punch, Khazhak spins around and throws a kick that nails her in the chest, sending her back and onto the ground.

"You'll have to do better than that, Yang," Khazhak taunts her before he charges up his semblance again.

Yang gets back up, gritting her teeth, and rushes back at him again. Khazhak separates his swords.

"LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" Khazhak yells and swings his right sword, sending out multiple lightning bolts at Yang.

Yang fires off her gauntlets, taking out a few of them, but the rest land around her, exploding and sending up smoke that blinds her. Just as the smoke clears, Yang find Khazhak right in front of her, with his left sword held in a reverse grip. Khazhak spins around, landing a few blows on Yang, and then roundhouse kicks her away again. Yang staggers back onto her feet, and looks up, only to get shoulder tackled by Khazhak, knocking her back and then he thrusts his right sword at her. Yang barely manages to avoid it, but then gets kicked back by him. Yang growls at being pushed back again, but then notices something on the ground in front of him…A few locks of her hair. Khazhak glances down and sees this as well. Knowing what comes next, Khazhak prepares himself.

"You…BASTARD!" Yang yells as her semblance kicks in, her hair lights up, and her eyes turn red.

"Uh oh," Ruby mutters.

Yang charges at Khazhak, who fires off a few shots to slow her down, but she side-steps around each shot. Khazhak holds his swords in a reverse grip, and prepares for the onslaught. Yang come in and throws one punch after another, with Khazhak blocking them with his swords as he gets pushed back. This goes on for a few moments until Yang takes one more step and throws a haymaker at Khazhak, who blocks with both his swords, but slides back across the ground. Khazhak narrows his eyes at Yang, and sees that she's starting to get tired.

 _"…It's over…"_ Khazhak thinks before he holsters his swords.

"What? Giving up?" Yang taunts him with a smirk.

"I never give up Yang. This battle is over…and I've won," Khazhak replies, crossing his arms.

"Oh yeah, well how about THIS!" Yang yells as she charges at Khazhak, right arm reeled back and when she gets close, throws her punch with all she's got left as it collides with Khazhak in a huge explosion. When the dust settles, everyone looks closely to see the result, most thinking that Yang and won and that Khazhak's undefeated streak has finally come to an end…However, when they can finally see the result, what they see shock's everyone except for Khazhak's teammates.

"No way…" Jaune mutters, eyes wide.

"Impossible," Weiss adds, just as surprised.

"But…Yang's punch never fails," Ruby says.

Down in the arena, Yang is frozen in shock, eyes wide, as she sees Khazhak standing before her…holding her fist back with just one hand.

"H-H-How?" Yang mutters.

"You have SOME strength, Yang Xiao Long. Your flames are fierce…But they CANNOT reach my storm," Khazhak says.

He then moves Yang's fist away and throws a few punches of his own at her. Tired from using her semblance and expending her energy, Yang can make no defense. Khazhak throws a left hook, followed by a right cross, then left uppercut, a right hook, and then grabs Yang's head for a double knee shot to the face, and finishes it up with a hard head-butt to her face. After that, Khazhak grabs the handles of his swords, activates them while still on his belt, and fires off his guns, swinging his swords in a cross slash that knocks Yang to the ground, her aura now in the red. The buzzer goes off and the match ends.

"And that's the match, with the winner being Khazhak Rairyu…again," Glynda announces, saying the last part dryly.

Khazhak holsters his swords and walks over to Yang, who manages to get back onto one knee, and looks up at him.

"Yang Xiao Long…Final Verdict: Innocent," he says and then turns his back to her, but glances back at her. "Oh yeah, and this means I won the bet. Better get ready to taste Lloyd's home cooking," he says and walks off, while Yang drops back onto the floor, both exhausted from the fight, and from the knowledge that she lost the bet.

"Man, I've never seen Yang lose a fight like that before," Ruby notes.

"Jeez, Khazhak just seems to get stronger and stronger each time I see him fight," Jaune adds.

"He certainly doesn't waste time when facing an opponent," Ren says.

"I hope Yang will be okay," Blake says.

"She'll be fine. Her ego may have taken a beating, but she'll get over it," Weiss adds.

"And with that, brother's undefeated streak lives on. I'm gonna go congratulate him," Lloyd says as he gets up and leaves, followed by his teammates. They meet up with Khazhak back in the locker room. "Nice work, brother. But of course, I knew you'd win anyway," he says.

Khazhak grunts, "Eh, I won't be beaten that easily. There's only one person one this planet that has ever beaten me, and I don't plan on letting that change any time soon. Especially by Yang Xiao Long of all people," Khazhak says.

"Speaking of which, what did you think about her abilities?" Reaper asks.

Khazhak hums in thought, "Hmmm, she has some skill and strength, but she won't reach me anytime soon with her current abilities and with the way she fights. However…if she can overcome her weaknesses and get stronger, then perhaps someday…she may be the one opponent I have been searching for…But I somewhat doubt that," Khazhak says, before turning to face Lloyd. "Oh yeah, that reminds me. Before the fight, Yang and I made a little bet, and I won. So now…she has to eat Lloyd's cooking," Khazhak says.

Reaper and Porphyrius go wide-eyed and glance at Lloyd, who's beaming.

"Really, ah man, I haven't cooked in a while. I hope I haven't gotten rusty," Lloyd says.

"Make sure it's extra special this time, Lloyd," Khazhak says, smirking.

"You got it, brother! I'll knock her dead with my cooking," Lloyd cheers.

 _"…Been nice knowing you Yang…"_ Porphyrius thinks with worry.

 _…Later that evening, in the cafeteria…_

After finishing up with classes, the three teams head to the cafeteria for dinner. Everyone gets their food and sits at their usual spot, but then they notice that one person is missing.

"Um, anyone know where Lloyd is?" Ruby asks.

"He's preparing Yang's meal for losing our bet," Khazhak says as he eats some pasta.

"A bet? What bet?" Weiss asks as she looks at Yang, who can only groan in response.

"I still don't see why Lloyd's cooking could be counted as a punishment. It doesn't sound that bad to me," Yang retorts.

"Sure, it doesn't SOUND bad, but sound isn't the issue here," Reaper says.

Suddenly, Lloyd shows up and drops a big pot of…stew (everyone thinks?), in front of Yang.

"And here's your meal Yang. Enjoy," Lloyd says while wearing an apron that says "please do nothing to the cook" on it.

"Is that my apron?" Ren asks.

Lloyd quickly takes the apron off and hides it behind him, "…Maybe…" Lloyd retorts.

"A bet's a bet, Yang, so eat up. And you have to eat ALL of it," Khazhak says as he crosses his arms.

Yang looks into the pot and dips her spoon into the pot. Taking it out, she takes the first bite, and then…

"Huh, not bad," Yang says, and then goes to eat more of it. "This is pretty good. You really need to come up with a better punishment for a bet, Khazhak," Yang says in between bites.

The others thought about taking a bite as well, but when they see Porphyrius and Reaper shaking their head frantically, they think something is up, especially since Khazhak is smiling…Khazhak NEVER smiles…

 _…The next morning…_

The teams are in Professor Port's class, but there is one thing that is different.

"Um, Miss Rose, would you care to tell me where Miss Xiao Long is?" Port asks.

"Oh, um…she's not feeling well today. I think she caught a bad stomach bug, so she's resting it off. I didn't want her to push herself until she got better," Ruby says as she and the rest of the team laugh nervously. _"…It was HORRIBLE…"_

Meanwhile, Khazhak just smirks, _"Lloyd's cooking may taste good, but that's not the issue. It's what comes afterward that is the real horror of his cooking…"_

 _…In Team RWBY's room…_

Inhuman sounds can be heard as Yang Xiao Long lays on the floor in the bathroom, curled up around the toilet, groaning in extreme pain.

"Damn Khazhak…I'll get him for this…" Yang cries until her stomach grumbles and she has to throw up in the toilet again, and cries in pain, agony, and defeat…

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 **And that's the chapter. Just having a little fun. For the girls watching Khazhak work out, he is basically a badass that also gets good grades. What girl wouldn't be interested in that? As for Yang, I couldn't resist, the sweet taste of another's suffering MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Anyway, next chapter will start off Volume 3. What awaits Team KEPL and Team RWBY in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	41. Chapter 36: The Vytal Festival

**Here we are at Chapter 36. Let's get started with Volume 3 in the story. One thing, I forgot to mention this a few chapters ago, regarding Voshkie'ahk's semblance. Her semblance is composition manipulation. It allows her to change the makeup of any object she touches, making it as hard and as sharp as steel, or as fragile as glass. She used this on her cards, making them sharp like blades, or even fusing them together to form card swords. Just thought you should know. Anyway, I do now own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 36. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 36: The Vytal Festival**

 _…A few weeks later, on Patch…_

It has been some time since Khazhak's victory over Yang. She eventually got over her upset stomach…several days later anyway. The Vytal Festival is about to begin and everyone is excited for the festivities. Now, on the island of Patch, off the coast of Vale, Ruby Rose is standing up near the edge of a cliff overlooking an expanse of the island. The grass and trees move to a cool fall wind blowing by her while the leaves fall to the ground. She stands with her hood pulled up over her head, rose petals flowing from the end of her cloak, as she prays to what's in front of her. In front of her is her mother's grave, which has the writing "Summer Rose, Thus kindly I Scatter" written on it under a rose emblem at the center. After a moment of praying, Ruby removes her hood.

"Hey Mom," Ruby speaks to her mother's grave. "Sorry I haven't come by in a while. Things have been…well things have been pretty busy. Oh, Dad's here too! He's, uh you know, Dad," Ruby speaks, shrugging her shoulders. "He's still teaching at Signal, but he told me he's going to be going out on some missions soon. I think he misses adventuring with you…I miss you too…Haven't gotten kicked out of Beacon yet, so that's cool. I think being on a team with Yang helps. I keep her in line…That was a joke. She's actually a really great fighter, you can tell she's learned a lot from Dad. Well, so are Weiss and Blake. Oh, they're my teammates. Together, we form Team RWBY. And yes, before you ask, that does cause a lot of confusion. Anyways, I made a bunch of new friends, like this one group called Team KEPL. Their leader is Khazhak Rairyu, and he's a really good friend of mine. I still feel bad about him and his teammates sometimes though. You see, they…well they have all been through a lot of rough stuff when they were younger, especially Khazhak, but they're really good people. Khazhak is always looking out for his friends, and has helped me out a lot of times before. Besides them, I've met some…let's just say odd teachers. Oh, we've also stopped some bag guys too! I guess it's like they say, like mother, like daughter. I still wonder why Ozpin let me into the school early, but uh, I guess he'll tell me one day. You know how he is. It's funny, the more I get to know him, the more he starts sounding like Uncle Qrow," Ruby says, but then hears a bark behind her and looks to see Zwei and her dad, who's appearance is covered in shadows, behind her. Ruby then turns back to her mother's grave. "Oh, looks like Dad's back. I got to go! He's dropping me off at Beacon for the tournament match before he goes on his next mission. Wish me luck!" Ruby pulls up her hood and walks away, but looks back at the grave one more time. "It was good to talk," she says before leaving with her father and Zwei as birds fly by.

A moment later after they leave, another figure approaches the grave, placing a bouquet of flowers in front of the grave. This figure turns out to be Khazhak Rairyu as he kneels to it, offering a silent prayer before he looks at the tombstone.

"It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Summer Rose, though I would've preferred under better circumstances. My name is Khazhak Rairyu, leader of Team KEPL, and a friend of your daughter's. I'm sure Ruby has told you about me. I'm sure you know how special Ruby is, I certainly think so. Before we met, I had been moving from one Hell to another, always trapped in darkness. However, when I met Ruby, she began to help me regain my light. Miss Rose…something big is coming to Vale, but I don't know what. What I do know is that Ruby and her friends will be right in the center of it. Dark challenges await them in the future, challenges that will make them or break them…But know this, I swear, by my sword, I won't allow your daughter to be harmed in this approaching storm. She has helped me regain what I had lost, and has become very important to me. I will fight by her side, and I will protect her from the darkness that seeks to snuff out her light. So for now, juts rest in peace, and leave this task to me," Khazhak says, making his oath before leaving the grave.

 _…A few days later, in Vale…_

The Vytal Festival is fully underway, and everyone is excited. People are either in the fairgrounds, or watching the fights at the Amnity Coliseum. Currently, Team KEPL is relaxing under a tree just outside the fairgrounds, with Porphyrius leaning against the tree, Reaper sitting cross-legged in front of it, Lloyd lying next to him, and Khazhak sitting on a tree branch above them, resting his arms behind his head as he looks out to the scenery in front of him.

"Someone want to tell me again why we aren't watching Team RWBY's fight? I want to see them kick some butt," Lloyd whines.

"We all know that Team RWBY will have no trouble making it past the first round, so I really don't see the reason for going. Besides, we can always go check out their other fights," Porphyrius says.

"Indeed. For now, we must be ready for our battle, which should come up soon enough," Reaper says.

"If you want to go, Lloyd, you're more than welcome to," Khazhak says from above them.

"Aw, but it's no fun if I go by myself," Lloyd whines again.

"What are you, a child?" Porphyrius deadpans.

"Enough," Khazhak says as he jumps off the tree branch and lands in front of them. "We need to focus on our upcoming match. For now, let's get something to eat. We can't fight on an empty stomach," Khazhak decides.

"Fine by me," Lloyd says as he gets up, followed by Reaper and Porphyrius.

As they walk, Porphyrius pulls out his scroll to check any updates in the tournament, "Well, well, well, looks like we were right. Team, RWBY won their match and are advancing to the doubles round," he says.

"Just as we thought. Come on, let's go and congratulate them," Khazhak says as the team walks through the fairgrounds, searching for Team RWBY. Eventually, they find them walking through the fairgrounds, after what looks like a conversation with Emerald Sustrai. Khazhak narrows his eyes, but decides to focus on the reason for him being there. "Nice job, little rose," Team RWBY turns around to see Team KEPL walking up to them. "Of course, I had no doubt that you would make it past the first round of the tournament," Khazhak says.

"Aw, thanks Khazhak," Ruby replies.

"Of course we would win, we won't lose that easily," Weiss adds.

"Oh no, we knew you'd be fine. You may not be as awesome as us, but you're still pretty good," Lloyd says with his hands behind his head.

"So have you guys had your fight yet?" Blake asks.

"Not yet. We were actually going to get something to eat while we wait. Care to join us?" Porphyrius offers them.

"Sure, we were planning on getting some victory food anyway. Let's go," Yang says and they all walk together.

A moment later, the two teams end up at a noodle both, being run by the old man from the dust shop, with Team RWBY sitting at the front and Team KEPL sitting to their right.

"I'll take the daily special," Khazhak says, receiving a large bowl of noodles with some sauce on it.

"I'll take a bowl of the regular, if you would," Reaper asks, getting a large bowl of regular noodles.

"I'll have the daily special as well," Porphyrius says, getting the same dish as Khazhak.

"Can you me give one with some spice to it?" Lloyd asks, receiving a large bowl of noodles with some spices added on top. "Nice," Lloyd says while rubbing his hands together.

"I'll have a bowl of the regular, please," Yang asks, getting Reaper's order.

"Ooooh, I'll take the same," Ruby says, happily getting the same order as Yang.

"Hm, do you have anything with a low salt?" Weiss asks, getting a large bowl of noodles in front of her. "Um, okay…" Weiss questions the bowl in front of her.

However, Blake just smiles and nods to the old man. The old man nods in return and runs into the back of the booth. Various noises are heard in the back until the old man quickly rushes back out and gives Blake a large bowl of noodles with several tuna fish on top. Blake gets stars in her eyes and she starts drooling as she inches closer to the meal, her heart pounding loudly. Weiss looks on for a moment and then pulls out a shiny Schnee Dust Company credit card to pay for the meal, which the old man takes.

"Aw, Weiss, what's the occasion?" Yang happily asks at her teammate's kind gesture.

"Consider it thanks for sending me to the doubles round," Weiss replies, until her card gets thrown back like a shuriken and stabs the booth in front of her. Everyone looks on in shock and then at the old man, who angrily points to his register which shows the words "declined" on it. "What?! How can me card be declined? I was barely into my monthly allowance," Weiss asks while Blake looks back and forth before she slowly starts pulling her bowl away.

However, the old man quickly takes away her bowl.

"No-ho," Blake cries, her head falling onto the booth in despair at losing her fish.

"Maybe I can help," they look to their left to see Team JNPR walking up to them, with Pyrrha having her wallet out.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby cheers while raising her hands into the air.

"I'll pay for my team Pyrrha. Unlike some people, I can actually pay for a meal," Khazhak says, playfully eyeing Weiss who groans.

"Ah, you don't have to," Yang replies to Pyrrha's kind gesture.

"But she could!" Blake quickly interjects, getting in Weiss' personal space.

"Well, I think you all earned it after that battle," Pyrrha says.

"Mind if we join you?" Jaune asks.

A few minutes later, the three teams finish their food, having different expressions on their faces. The members of Team KEPL have expressions of sweet content on their faces, having happily full stomachs. Blake, Yang, and Ruby have happy expressions while Weiss looks like she has a stomach ache. Meanwhile, Pyrrha pushes her bowl away in bliss while Nora and Ren look happy, but Jaune looks like he's about to throw up.

"Are you sure it's wise to have eaten before a fight?" Ren asks.

"Can't fight on an empty stomach, Ren," Lloyd reminds him as the old man takes away their bowls.

"Exactly, it will give us energy," Pyrrha replies, but then Nora burps an incredibly LOUD burp next to her.

"There goes all the energy," Reaper chuckles.

Jaune then painfully lays his head on the booth and groans, "If I barf, I'm blaming you," Jaune woefully says.

"Oh, aim it at the enemy," Nora playfully suggests, grinning madly.

"There's an idea," Lloyd says and laughs.

"Nora, that's disgusting. But, if you do feel the urge," Ren says.

Jaune gives him a thumbs up, "Got it," he says.

Pyrrha then stands up, "Well, we should be off," she says.

"So, you think you guys are ready?" Ruby asks.

Nora speaks up, "Of course. We've got a world renowned fighter on our team, what's basically a ninja, I can bench five of me…J-Jaune…We've trained all year, our weapons are awesome, Glynda barely yells at us anymore, and uh…Jaune," Nora points out, trying to be nice with Jaune.

"Are you gonna take that?" Ren asks as everyone looks at Jaune.

"She's not wrong," Jaune admits, shaking his head as it remains on the booth.

'I'm kidding. He knows I'm kidding. Don't be so nervous. The worst that could happen is we LOSE. Then it's just a few more years of walking around school with everyone knowing we're failures. Our friends will slowly abandon us to preserve their social status. We won't be able to show our faces in class. No one will sit with us in the cafeteria. And Ren and I have no parents, and we have no home left to go to. We'll be officially renamed Team 'Losifer' ha-ha-ha," Nora starts laughing miserably as her face loses its color and she smacks her head to the booth while crying in agony.

"So, yeah…We're feeling pretty good," Ren calmly says.

"Yeah, I can see that," Porphyrius mutters while looking at Nora.

Pyrrha places a supportive hand on Nora and Jaune's shoulders, "Don't fret. If anything, we should be looking forward to a fight with actual guidelines and not, well, murderers," Pyrrha notes.

"Yeah, don't sweat it. We've all faced way worse before," Yang says.

"Let's see: Grimm invasions, violent extremists, a destructive sociopath," Blake counts the fingers on her left hand.

"Not to mention all the crazy things my team and I have had to face in the past," Khazhak adds.

"And that's all while we were still in training. Oh, imagine what it'll be like when we graduate," Ruby cheers, pumping her fists in front of her in excitement.

"Maybe then, I'll be able to pay for a meal," Weiss mutters, hanging her head as the announcements come on.

"Would Team JNPR please report to the battle grounds immediately," they hear Port's voice says.

"Yes, like they were scheduled to, SEVERAL minutes ago,"Oobleck's voice adds.

"Well it looks like this is it," Pyrrha says and she and Ren walk away, with Nora and Jaune trailing behind them, still in agony.

"Go get 'em," Ruby cheers them on.

"Good luck, guys," Khazhak adds.

A few minutes later, Team RWBY, with Team KEPL behind them, walk through one of the entrances into the main arena to see Team JNPR's match. As they are walking, Mercury and Emerald walk behind them, but head left when they head right, to a different section of the stands, all while Yang and Khazhak look back at them for some reason.

"Team JNPR of Beacon vs. Team BRNZ (Bronze) of Shade," Port announces over the commentary.

The leader of Team BRNZ, named Brawnz Ni, is a young man with dark purple eyes and short black hair with his hair slicked toward his left side. He is wearing a top consisting of gradients of gray and purple, a scarf, black pants with bronze kneecaps, and a dark purple scarf that wraps around his right leg and black boots. His weapon is a pair of claws wrapped around his hands, of which are shorter than Lloyd's claws. The second member, known as Roy Stallion, is a young man with green eyes and brown hair styled in cornrow dreadlocks tipped in gold clasps. His attire consists of a green vest buckled closed on his left shoulders, over a black t-shirt and loose white pants rolled up to his knees. He is also wearing a pair of fingerless gloves with white armor parts that are holsters for his weapon and olive canvas sneakers. His weapon is a pair of circular saws that he can throws as ranged weapons or be used as melee weapons. The third member, named Nolan Porfirio, is a young man with messy dark red hair and pink eyes. He is wearing a deep sky blue jacket with a black hood and rolled up black sleeves, open over a white shirt with long, rolled up sleeves, a pair of sunglasses with pink lenses hanging from his collar, a pair of ripped burgundy jeans, black shoes, and black fingerless gloves. He uses an electric baton as his weapon. The fourth member, called May Zedong, is a young girl with light tan skin, dusty rose hair and gray-blue eyes. Her attire consists of a red and white hoodie with blue tracksuit pants and a distinctive black beanie that covers her left eye. She is also wearing a large black scarf and red canvas sneakers. She uses a sniper rifle as her weapon.

In the arena, holographic screens appear around the two teams, and start rolling for a few moments before the screens on one side of the arena stop, showing a forest symbol, and on the other side appears a mountain symbol. The sections around the center of the arena open up and then a mountain range appears on one side of the arena behind Team JNPR, and a forest rises up on the other side behind Team BRNZ.

"3, 2, 1…" Port begins as Teams RWBY and KEPL watch on from the stands. "BEGIN!" he announces and the two teams jump at each other as the match begins.

Khazhak crosses his arms and thinks to himself, _"Show me what you're made of, Team JNPR."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. So now the Vytal Tournament is underway. Everyone is excited and ready to compete. Don't worry, I got Team KEPL's opponents all set for the tournament. Who will Team KEPL face in the tournament? Will they claim the championship? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	42. Chapter 37: Making a Statement

**Here we are at Chapter 37. Let's get the next battles of the first round underway. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 37. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 37: Making a Statement**

At the Amnity Coliseum, Team JNPR prepares to face off against Team BRNZ.

"3…2…1…" Port counts down over the announcements.

"Come on, guys!" Jaune pumps his team up, raising his sword.

"Begin!" Port says and the match begins.

All four members of Team JNPR run at the three boys of Team BRNZ who run back at them, but the forth member, May Zedong, runs backwards to the forest section of the arena. When they get close, Brawnz knees Pyrrha who blocks it with her shield, and steps back before blocking a strike of his claws with her sword. Pyrrha then takes a swing at him, but he dodges to her right and moves away. This allows Pyrrha to see May using the end of her sniper rifle to hook onto and swing on one tree branch, propelling her to a higher branch, allowing her to act as support for her team. Meanwhile, Nora runs at and takes a swing with her war hammer at Nolan, who ducks under the attack and swings his baton at her rear. May jumps onto one branch, aims, and then fires a shot that goes over Ren, destroying a big chunk of a large boulder behind him. As this happens, Jaune uses his shield to block two strikes from Roy's saws, and then looks up to see a bullet zoom right past his head. He looks at the forest to see May's weapon shining in the forest as she aims it at them.

"R-retreat!" he commands his team.

Ren falls back as a bullet hits the ground near his feet, followed by Nora running with him as bullets fly by them while Jaune and Pyrrha run behind them, using their shields as extra cover. Meanwhile, Khazhak looks on from the stands.

" _That sniper is going to be an issue for them unless they can take her out, or get her down to their level and attack range,"_ Khazhak mentally notes.

Team JNPR jump behind some rocks and use them as cover while May continues to lay down suppressive fire on them.

"What do we do?" Pyrrha asks.

Jaune looks up to see the rest of Team BRNZ running towards them.

"Spread out! Try to keep moving," he says before he blocks a strike made by Brawnz.

May jumps onto a higher branch and takes aim. Pyrrha blocks another attack from Brawnz's claws with her sword while Nolan causally walks forward to Ren who slides in front of him. Nolan looks back to May and nods his head. May chuckles before aiming at Ren and fires, with one shot hitting the ground in front of him and then another going for his feet, but he side-flips to evade it. As he looks up, Nolan takes this chance to swing his baton at him, hitting his head, making Ren stumble back while Nolan runs at him. Ren spins around and does a spinning kick, but Nolan ducks under it and swings his baton at Ren's legs. Ren spins around again and goes to aim his pistols at him, but Nolan stabs his baton at his chest, causing an electric shock to occur and hurt Ren, making him fall to the ground.

"That's nothing compared to my lightning," Khazhak mutters.

"Ren!" Nora yells to her partner, and gets mad.

She takes a swing at Nolan, but he ducks and then stabs his electric baton at Nora's chest. However, the shock has no effect, and Nora just smiles at him while laughing a little bit.

"Ho-ho, looks like one of my favorite students, Nora Valkyrie, is charging up to use her semblance," Port says on the big screen.

"What?" Nolan asks, confused.

"Yes, Miss Valkyrie's semblance lets her produce, as well as channel, electrical energy straight to her muscles. This allows her to jump explosively into the air, wield her mighty hammer, or in this case, absorb Nolan's attacks and send young man flying," Oobleck explains.

"WHAT?!" Nolan shrieks.

Nora then flexes her arms as electrical energy surges on her arms and her torso. Nolan steps back, and then Nora burst forth with pink and white lightning bolts, smiling, before slamming her hammer against him, and sending him bouncing back and crashing into a large boulder, destroying it. Meanwhile, Jaune looks to the top of the mountain behind him to see an artificially created storm cloud forming above the mountain and gets an idea.

"Nora! Get to the mountain!" he shouts to her.

Nora salutes him, "You got it!" she says and races to the mountain top.

"Ren, try and distract the sniper," Jaune tells Ren.

Ren winches as a shot flies right by him and hunches over.

"Sure, why not," he bluntly replies, not really liking that idea before he starts running forward.

Jaune and Pyrrha move forward while Nora keeps jumping up higher and higher as she gets closer to the top. Roy throws his saws at Jaune, to which Jaune blocks with his shield, but the second collision causes his shield to reel back and hit his face. The saws return to Roy, who then swings his arms around, making three swings at Pyrrha who blocks them with her shield. Jaune shakes his head back into focus and runs to join her. Meanwhile, Teams KEPL and RWBY watches from the stands.

"Yeah! Go get 'em, Jaune!" Ruby cheers him on, pumping her fist into the air.

"Well, he's certainly improved," Weiss notes, complimenting Jaune for the very first time.

"Not by much if you ask me," Porphyrius notes.

"Yeah, but he ain't got nothing on Pyrrha," Yang adds.

Back in the fight, Pyrrha kicks Brawnz away before blocking Roy's first saw, spinning her body to avoid his second saw, then spinning her body around to kneel and throw her sword at Roy, and then rolling backwards and pushing off her hands as she double kicks Brawnz again. Meanwhile, May aims and fires another shot at Ren, who runs across the center of the arena towards her, side stepping to evade the first four shots before jumping over Roy's saws, hitting and sliding across the ground while Pyrrha jumps and rolls over him. He gets close enough and fires his automatic pistols at Nolan as he runs at him. Ren then swings his pistols' attached blades at him twice before using them to block and lock Nolan's baton, then kicks his chest twice before positioning it behind Nolan's neck as he is forced to turn around and get locked in by Ren. May thinks for a moment before deciding to aim at Nora this time, which Ren notices.

"Nora!" he yells as he holds Nolan.

Jaune blocks an attack from Brawnz with his sword and looks back to see Nora still climbing the mountain. He then looks to Pyrrha.

"Pyrrha, up!" he yells.

Pyrrha runs towards him, flipping in the air to avoid Roy's thrown saws, sliding on the ground right by him, before she gets back on her feet and jumps over Brawnz. She lands on Jaune's shield and he pushes her up into the air just in time for Pyrrha to use her shield to block May's next shot that was meant for Nora. Nora reaches the top of the mountain, raising her hammer into the air to absorb the lightning coming off of it, charging her up. She turns her weapon into its grenade launcher form, and then opens the front section, firing off six rounds that fly through the air in a heart shape. May looks on in disbelief as they fly towards her, but jumps off her tree just in time to avoid the shots. Everyone looks on as May starts coughing from the smoke billowing up and consuming the forest, forcing her to jump down to ground level. The other three members of Team BRNZ look back up to see Nora smash her powered up hammer at the ground in front of them, making a shockwave that sends them flying back to May.

"This is it guys! Let's finish 'em with team attacks. Ren, Nora, flower power!" Jaune declares, but…

"Wait, what?" Nora asks, confused.

"F-flower power," Jaune says again as he looks back at them, but they still don't get it. "That's your team attack name," he explains.

"Since when?" Ren asks.

"Guys, we went over this! Flower power's Ren and Nora. Ren brings the flower, Nora brings the power!" Jaune practically pouts.

"How do I bring a flower?" Ren asks, scratching his head with his pistol.

"No silly, not A FLOWER. Flour, like in baking," Nora says.

"Why would I bring that?" Ren asks again, still confused.

"Eh, uh, no, it's your symbol," Jaune corrects them.

"So, what are we?" Pyrrha asks, gesturing to Jaune and herself.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune pouts again.

"SORRY, I just wanna make sure it's clearly defined," Pyrrha says.

"Pyrrha, you and I are 'Arkos,' it's that thing, where we take our shields, remember?" Jaune clarifies while Team BRNZ looks on in disbelief.

"Arkos?" Pyrrha asks.

"Yeah, it's our names put together," he explains.

"Right, no, I get it," Pyrrha says, not truly getting it.

"What, do you not like it?" he inquires.

"No, no, it's…good," she tries to be nice about it.

"Hm, I sensed hesitation," Nora notes at Pyrrha's response.

By this point, Team BRNZ is losing their patience.

"HEY!" Brawnz yells to them, getting their attention.

"Huh/hm?" Team JNPR inquires as they look back at them.

"What do you think you're doing?" he yells to them.

"Trying to have a team meeting, thank you very little!" Jaune retorts.

"Yeah, team ears only," Nora adds, pointing to her ears.

Brawnz looks at his team, then back at them, "We're in the middle of a FIGHT!" he shouts.

"AND WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONVERSATION! WHAT DON'T YOU GET ABOUT THAT?!" Jaune shouts back.

"Um, Jaune…" Pyrrha begins.

"Yes, Pyrrha?" Jaune replies as he calms down.

"I think he means that we're ALL in the middle of a fight," Pyrrha points out.

The group look around the coliseum to see the crowd booing at them for their lack of action in the middle of the battle. At one section, Khazhak has his head in his hands, shaking it in misery.

"Um, are you okay, Khazhak?" Ruby asks.

"This is too painful to watch," he says, motioning to Team JNPR's actions, or rather lack of actions. "And Jaune's team attack names are just horrible," he continues.

Back in the arena, Team JNPR look on for a moment.

Jaune then sighs, "Nora, just…hit 'em with the hammer," he says.

"Got it," she replies, getting a maniacal smile.

"Wait, what?" Brawnz shrieks.

Nora jumps into the air, landing nest to them, and swings her hammer around, hitting all four members of Team BRNZ out of the arena, colliding with the force field at the edge. This ends the match with all four of them getting eliminated by knockout, and sounds the buzzer.

"And with that, it appears Team JNPR wins by knockout. Literally. Can someone go make sure they're okay?" Port announces.

"Aw well, Vacuo fans are sure to be hurting after that one, but this next round will have them on the edge of their seats," Oobleck says, showing a picture of Team BRNZ's defeat.

Port then steps in, "Team NDGO (Indigo) of Shade is certainly a crowd favorite, but these lovely ladies are going against some of the toughest, testosterone-filled teammates we've seen so far. I'm of course talking about…Team SSSN (Sun)!" Port exclaims. "Sun Wukong and his team are certainly a force to be reckoned with," Port says as Sun's team walks into the arena while waving to the crowd. "And although he'll be representing the Mistral academy of Haven, I'm sure his friends and family back in Vacuo will be cheering him along," Port says.

"Let's see if the morons can it past the first round," Khazhak mutters.

"Good luck Neptune!" Weiss cheers for Neptune.

Neptune waves, but then sees their opponents, the four beautiful girls of Team NDGO. Immediately, he goes into "flirt" mode.

"Ladies," he flirts with them while pointing at them.

Weiss sees this, then balls up her fists, and flips out, "BREAK HIS STUPID FACE, NDGO!" she screams, pointing to Neptune in pure anger at his antics.

Lloyd chuckles, "Uh-oh, looks like the player's in trouble now," he says, to which Porphyrius agrees with him by nodding his head.

Back in the arena, the two teams wait for the match to begin.

"Alright girls, try and remember; hands…above the waist," he continues flirting with them, motioning with his hands above his waist.

Sun puts a hand on his shoulder, "Ignore him, for he…Yeah, he's dumb," Sun says.

Neptune winks at them, much to their disgust, as the arena begins to set up for the next match. Behind Team NDGO, the arena opens up as a desert section with tall rock formations rises up. Above the rocks, an artificial sun appears, with some of the crowd putting their shades on.

"Ha-alright, home-field advantage," Nebula says as they look at the field.

"Don't get too cocky. That's my turf, too!" Sun says.

"I hope I don't get sand in my shoes," Scarlet says, worried as he looks down at his shoes.

Neptune brings a hand to his face and leans to him, "Be cool, man," he whispers as the roulette behind him stops.

"Hey, the ocean," Dew joyfully says.

"Huh?" Neptune says as he turns around to see the symbol for the ocean…and gets engulfed in fear at the symbol, to which Ruby notices.

"Uh, what's wrong with Neptune?" Ruby asks, while Weiss is still angry, and they look to Blake.

"Oh no," she says, shaking her head in her right hand.

"Blake, care to fill us in here?" Reaper asks.

Behind Team SSSN, arena opens up, allowing a crashed pirate ship with several small islands and ocean water to rise up. Neptune's whole body freezes up with fear as Sun pushes him a little bit.

"Neptune's…afraid of the water," Blake confesses.

Lloyd and Porphyrius start laughing their butts off at this while Khazhak just looks at her with one eyebrow raised.

"You're joking, right?" he asks, but she shakes her head. "Oh, this should be interesting," Khazhak bluntly says as he turns back to the arena.

"3, 2, 1…BEGIN!" Oobleck signals the start of the match.

Neptune immediately, and very quickly, races past Team NDGO, and gets up near the top of the rock formation behind them, doing everything her can to avoid the water. This confuses both teams.

"Neptune! What are you doing?!" Sage yells.

"Oh, you know, just uh, gaining higher ground!" He yells back an excuse.

"On the enemies' side?!" Sun asks as Scarlet drops his jacket.

"They would never expect it!" Neptune replies.

"He's not wrong," Dew points out as Team NDGO looks up at him.

"Open fire!" Nebula commands and they run towards him.

"And just like that, their formation is in ruins," Reaper notes.

Sun's group run after them, with him jumping into the air ahead of Scarlet and Sage. As Scarlet gets close, Octavia jumps up in front of him. Scarlet takes a swing at her, but she ducks under him while sliding across the sandy floor. She slides in between Sage and Dew. Sage reels his large sword back and makes a heavy swing at Dew while she spins her spear around and the two attacks collide, pushing both fighters back. Dew starts slowly moving her spear over the sand, and creates sand tornados either due to some form of dust or her semblance. Three tall sand tornados surround Sage and fuse together. The tornado picks up Sage and sends him flying out of the battlefield, landing on the ground with his sword impaling the ground next to him as he is eliminated by ring-out.

"And NDGO gains the advantage," Oobleck says.

Octavia lands near Sun and Scarlet, who watch Sage get knocked out before taking combat stances to her. Octavia spins her sword around, sending out a crescent wave of fire energy, due to fire dust in her kris, that hits the sand, causing a small sand storm to blind Sun and Scarlet. Scarlet gets blinded, but Sun jumps away and starts running by the rock formations. He then looks up to Neptune.

"Neptune!' he calls out as he keeps running.

Neptune looks down before jumping and landing on the ground level. Octavia flips in the air before swinging her kris again, shooting out another fire wave that hits the sand towards Neptune. However, Neptune pulls down his goggles to protect his eyes from the sand, and then fires his rifle back at her. Octavia blocks the shot, but looks up and gets blinded by the sun, allowing Sun to jump up and kick her in the face. Sun smiles as Octavia stumbles back before running at him to attack. Sun pulls out his weapon in staff form, and twirls it around him as he deflects a swing from Octavia's kris. He twirls it around him again before hitting her face, left knee, torso, and then ending it off with a jab to the stomach. The attack sends Octavia to the ground, with her aura dropping to the red and thus eliminating her from the match.

"Ooooh, and we're down to three-on-three!" Port says.

Khazhak narrows his eyes at Sun, _"So far he seems to be the only one with some actual skill. Perhaps he may prove to be a worthy opponent for me,"_ he thinks.

Meanwhile, Dew makes another tornado that sends Scarlet flying into the air, with Nebula and Gwen in hot pursuit. Luckily, Scarlet flies near the mast of the pirate ship, and grabs it, swinging around to land on his feet on one end, almost losing his balance before regaining it and sighing in relief. Down below, Nebula fires an arrow at the mast of the ship, as Gwen moves behind her, and uses the arrow in the mast as a stepping stone to jump onto the arm of the mast that Scarlet is on. When she lands, her crossbow folds and extends into a sword. She then swings her sword at Scarlet, but he blocks with his cutlass. She then makes a right swing, which he ducks under, and then swings her sword again, only for him to deflect it with his cutlass again. Scarlet counters with a right swing of his sword, but she ducks and then hits his face with the butt end of her sword. Scarlet does a spinning kick that hits Nebula, sending her around the mast and onto the other arm. Scarlet quickly spins around the mast in pursuit, swinging his cutlass as he gets near her, but she blocks the strike. Nebula then makes a downward swing at him, colliding with his cutlass, and pushing him back. However, Scarlet grabs her sword and swings his cutlass at her feet, to which she jumps over, before spinning around and elbowing her in the face. This causes Nebula to lose her balance and fall off the mast and onto the ground. Scarlet looks down to see Sun evading Dew's and Gwen's combined attacks, focusing on Gwen as she spins around like a ballerina while throwing her knives at him.

Scarlet smiles and pulls out his pistol, firing the grappling hook on the butt end of the gun. The hook grabs Gwen's left ankle.

"Gotcha," Scarlet says as he pulls Gwen up while he comes down.

However, when Gwen gets pulled up, her skirt and tassets open up. She holds up her skirt, but can't stop her throwing knives from falling out of her tassets. Scarlet looks up in horror and holds his body still as the knives fall, just barely avoiding him, to the ground. He then hunches over and sighs in relief. Meanwhile, Dew jumps onto one of the small islands in front of Sun. Sun looks at her before looking up at the palm tree next to him to see a few coconuts hanging above him. He smiles and hits the tree, causing two coconuts to ceremoniously fall into his hands. Sun throws the two coconuts at Dew, but she hits them right back at him with her spear. The two coconuts, now on fire, fly at Sun, but he just barely avoids them. Unfortunately, the two fire coconuts fly towards Scarlet, with one hitting him in the face, making him spin around just in time for the second one to hit him in the nuts. The painful shot takes his aura down to the red zone, eliminating him as he falls to the ground in sheer pain.

"Ooooh, so much for the possibility of having kids in the future," Lloyd laughs while Team KEPL instinctively reach for their privates and wince at the painful sight.

"…Nuts," Sun says as he sees Scarlet get eliminated in such an embarrassing way.

Sun then looks back to Dew, who smiles and then swings her spear around, creating a water spout that moves towards Sun.

"Uh, Neptune, could use some help buddy," Sun says as he flips out of the way of the tornados coming at him.

"Uh, you know uh, it probably would better if YOU came over HERE. Yeah, I can guard this…sector…We're in lockdown mode," Neptune replies, still trying to avoid the water.

"What are talking about? There's nothing to lockdown!" Sun exclaims while Nebula shoots an arrow at Gwen's hooked foot, freeing her.

"Lockdown, right, you got it," Neptune replies, pretending to not hear him correctly.

Nebula and Gwen jump after Sun, and then Sun looks back before jumping away as Dew impales her spear into the ground where he was standing.

"Dude, I know you're afraid of water, but you gotta-!" Sun begins, but stops when Neptune shoots Dew out of the air as she tried to impale Sun again.

"There, I helped! Are you happy now?!...Also I am not afraid of water, and I have no idea what YOU are talking about!" Neptune yells back as he points at Sun.

Behind Sun, Dew gets back up as Nebula and Gwen land next to her in the water and take their combat stances.

"NEPTUNE!" Sun screams, pointing at the three girls.

"Okay, fine! Just get out of the water," Neptune says and jumps to the beach edge.

Sun then jumps onto the beach next to Neptune. Neptune spins his gun into its glaive form, and quickly tiptoes to the water, much to Sun's annoyance. Neptune then stabs the electric blade of his weapon into the water, resulting in the electricity flowing through the water and shocking the three members of Team NDGO. The attack fries them and depletes the rest of their auras, eliminating all three and ending the match as the buzzer goes off.

"And with that, Team SSSN moves onto the doubles round," Port announces while Sun and Neptune chest bump then start dancing in celebration of their victory. "You know what I call that victory?" Port asks Oobleck.

"Shocking?" Oobleck tries to make a joke.

"No, well earned. What you said is stupid," Port replies.

"So, what do you think brother, was that one heck of a match?" Lloyd asks Khazhak.

Khazhak crosses his arms, "Pfft, that wasn't a match. That was a MESS," Khazhak criticizes Team SSSN's performance, not knowing that there is one other person with the exact same thought.

"Aw, that was so close," Ruby says, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Looks like the dorks made it to the next round," Yang adds.

Blake looks down to the arena at Sun and Neptune dancing. Sun then looks back at her and points at her while winking at her. This makes Blake blush.

"Emphasis on dork," Blake says as she looks away, smiling and still blushing.

A few minutes later, the final match for the day gets underway.

"And now for our final match of the day, ladies and gentlemen. Believe me when I say that we have a very special treat for you today," Port announces.

"Yes, in our final match, we have Team LILK (Lilac) of Haven vs. Team KEPL of Beacon. This home team of ours does not have much history in the classroom, but believe me when I say they are anything but weak," Oobleck adds.

"Yes, the members of Team KEPL each have been in many battles even before they got accepted into Beacon, and that combat experience is sure to make them a threat against their opponents," Port continues.

In the arena below, Team KEPL walk into the center and eye their opponents. The leader of Team LILK, named Lavender Kimnara, is a teenage girl with a fair complexion, long blonde hair, and lilac eyes. She is themed after a knight, with purple armor with gold edging. Her armor consists of shoulder pauldrons, vambraces, chest armor, skirt armor, and leg armor going up to her knees. Under her armor is a long black shirt and black pants, and she has on a long red cape on her back. Her weapon is a purple lance with a gun barrel on one side and a large revolving chamber behind it. The second member, named Irving Forrest, has dark skin, green eyes, and short-shaved black hair. Themed after a soldier, he is wearing a camouflage short-sleeved shirt and pants, with a brown belt around the waist, and brown straps over his torso. He has on a pair of black shoulder pads, black fingerless gloves, and brown laced up combat boots. His weapon is a heavy machine gun that can turn into a battle axe.

The third member of Team LILK is Lootah Tahatan. Themed after a Native American hunter, he has tanned skin, long black hair tied in a red cloth at the end, and red eyes. He is wearing a long-sleeved red shirt under a tanned sleeveless jacket with red markings on the front and a brown belt with a gray buckle tied at the waist. Over the jacket is a brown sash around his shoulders. He is also wearing brown gloves, red pants, and brown fur boots that end under his knees. Around his neck is a necklace with three wolf teeth tied into it, and he has two red feathers clipped into the right side of his hair and two more feathers on a ribbon around his right arm. His weapon is a red bow with dust tipped arrows that he keeps in a black container with a brown strap tied around his chest, and the bow can separate and change into twin swords. The fourth member of the team, named Kapilo Woodrow, has a fair complexion, short brown hair, and blue eyes. Themed after a cowboy, he is wearing a long-sleeved, light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, with a brown vest worn over it. He is wearing a brown belt with a gold circular buckle at the waist, with a hook on his right side and a gun holster on his left side. He is also wearing navy blue pants and brown leather chaps around his legs, and brown boots. Finally, he is wearing a brown cowboy hat on his head and a red bandanna around his neck. His weapons are a long brown whip with a sharp tip at the end, and a revolver pistol.

As Team KEPL look at their opponents, Khazhak turns to his teammates.

"Alright guys, you know what to do. Time to make a statement to the world, that Team KEPL is not a group you wanna mess with," he says, to which they nod to him.

The arena then opens up a moment later, and behind Team LILK is a section of ruins of destroyed buildings and rubble, while the section behind Team KEPL is a meadow, with tall grass accompanied by a single tree. The two teams prepare their weapons and wait for the signal to begin.

"3…2…1…Begin!" Port says and the match starts.

The members of Team LILK begin to run at Team KEPL, but quickly stop when they see three members of the team retreat into the meadow, leaving only Khazhak at the center of the arena, who casually begins walking towards them.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to face us all by yourself?" Lavender asks.

"Actually, yes. That's EXACTLY what I'm doing," Khazhak responds.

"What could possibly possess you to do that?" Irving asks.

"Simple…To make a statement to the world," Khazhak answers cocking his swords. "Team LILK…prepare to be judged," Khazhak says and rushes at them.

Team LILK quickly fire their ranged weapons at Khazhak, but he sidesteps some attacks while using his swords to block the rest. He then fires his guns, propelling him into the air and falling towards the team, while still evading their ranged attacks. When he gets close, Khazhak spins his body around, using the momentum to swing his swords as they collide with Lavender's lance and Irving's heavy machine gun. Khazhak then pushes them back before swinging his right sword at Lootah and then does a roundhouse kick to Kapilo. Still spinning, Khazhak swing his left sword back at Lavender, deflecting a strike of her lance, and then fires his right sword gun at her, making her stumble back. Kapilo twirls his whip around and then flings it at Khazhak, wrapping around his left arm. Khazhak looks back at him before turning to see Irving and Lootah aiming their weapons at him. Khazhak back flips away from their attacks and jumps over Kapilo, spinning his whip around in order to tie up Kapilo before landing behind him and kicking him to the ground. At this point, Irving changes his heavy machine gun into a battle axe and charges at Khazhak along with Lavender. Lavender thrusts her spear at him, but he deflects it with his left sword and then head buds her in the face, knocking her back. Irving takes a swing at him with his axe, but Khazhak redirects it around him with his swords before firing his left sword gun, using the recoil to shoot the butt end of his handle into Irving's face, making him stumble back. Lootah comes in, firing two fire dust tipped arrows at him, but Khazhak shoots them out of the air before they could hit. However, Lootah then fires an ice dust tipped arrow at Khazhak's feet, freezing them in place. Kapilo fires his revolver at Khazhak, but her blocks with his swords. Irving comes at his rear and makes a downward strike at Khazhak's head.

However, before the strike can connect, Lloyd suddenly appears and grabs the axe with his claws, smiling somewhat evilly at Irving before grabbing his face and throwing him into the wall of one of the destroyed buildings in the ruins section of the arena. Meanwhile, Khazhak breaks out of the ice just in time to see Reaper swing his twin scythe at Kapilo and Porphyrius fire his rifles at Lootah, who jumps back from the surprise attack. Lavender looks around to see her teammates now dealing with Khazhak's before she turns back to him.

"You came at us in order to trip us up before your team moved in for the real assault," Lavender realizes.

Khazhak just smirks at her before combining his swords into their greatsword form and runs at her. The two leaders clash with their weapons together, but Lavender gets pushed back as Khazhak proves to be easily stronger than her. During this time, Porphyrius continues to fire his rifles at Lootah, who uses pieces of the ruined city as cover while avoiding his assault. Eventually, Lootah gets a chance to fire two lightning dust tipped arrows at Porphyrius, but he backflips out of the way, and then runs at Lootah. Lootah separates his bow, the two parts turning into a pair of swords, and runs back at Porphyrius. Just as they get close, Lootah swings his right sword at Porphyrius, but he jumps over him and lands behind him. Lootah then swings his left sword at him, but Porphyrius backflips over him, doing a flip kick at Lootah's head while in mid-air. Meanwhile, Reaper continues to twirl his twin scythe around as Kapilo does his best to evade the onslaught, unable to get a clean shot off with his revolver. As Reaper makes an upward swing, Kapilo jumps back and then flicks his whip at Reaper's weapon, wrapping around one end of it. Unfortunately for him, Reaper separates the twin scythe into two separate scythes, throwing the free scythe in his right hand at Kapilo, hitting his right hand and causing him to drop his whip, thus releasing Reaper. Reaper then runs at him while grabbing the thrown scythe and swings them three times at Kapilo, who narrowly dodges them, but gets hit by a forth upward swing, sending him flying back a few feet.

As this occurs, Irving is firing his heavy machine gun at Lloyd, but Lloyd uses his semblance to effortlessly withstand the hail of bullets as he calmly walks towards Irving. When Lloyd gets close, Irving stops firing and turns his weapon back into a battle axe. He then makes a downward swing at Lloyd, but Lloyd catches it with his left claw, chuckling at his opponent before making a right hook, with his semblance still active, at Irving's head. Lloyd then throws a left punch at Irving's face, then another right hook, then a left knee to his head, and then a right uppercut. Lloyd quickly grabs Irving's right arm as he stumbles back, pulling him into a steel head bud to his face, staggering him. Lloyd then finishes it up with a double hard uppercut to Irving's skull, sending him flying into the air before crashing onto the ground with his aura level hitting zero, thus getting eliminated from the match. Lloyd laughs at his victory before going to join his teammates as his semblance deactivates.

"And with that, Team LILK is down one member," Port announces.

Meanwhile, Khazhak deflects another thrust of Lavender's lance, forcing it upwards before kicking her in the chest, sending her sliding backwards. Lavender pants in slight exhaustion while Khazhak looks like he hasn't even gotten warmed up yet. Khazhak looks to his right to see Reaper spinning his twin scythe around, deflecting Kapilo's revolver to one side before performing a roundhouse kick that knocks him back to Lavender's left side. A moment later, Porphyrius slashes his swords at Lootah, who blocks with his own swords, before doing a backflip kick that knocks Lootah back to his teammates. Her teammates get back on their feet, all of them weakened by their respective fights and look to see that they are surrounded by the members of Team KEPL, all of which look unfazed by the brawl. Khazhak then steps forth.

"This is the difference between us and every other team in this tournament!" he yells so the audience can hear him. "In the end, experience outranks everything!" he shouts.

He nods his head to his teammates. Reaper then fires his knives at the three members of Team LILK, using the wire to wrap around them, while Lloyd knocks them all to the ground with a shoulder tackle. Porphyrius then prepares his semblance, aiming his rifles at his opponents.

"Dark Void anchor!" he exclaims, firing his gravity shots as Reaper releases his knife wire around them, with the shots hitting his targets and keeping them down on the ground.

Khazhak charges up his lightning semblance before jumping to Lloyd, who uses his strength to grab and throw Khazhak high into the air. When he reaches his peak, Khazhak reels his sword back.

"LIGHTNING BREAKER!" Khazhak shouts before falling to the ground.

When he nears the ground, Khazhak swings his greatsword, hitting the ground in a massive electric explosion at Team LILK. When the dust clears, Khazhak is seen standing over the three members of Team LILK, all three of them knock out with their aura levels down to zero. The buzzer then comes on, signaling the end of the match.

"And with that, Team KEPL are victorious in a spectacular one-sided battle!" Oobleck announces.

"With this, Team KEPL will move on to the doubles round," Port adds.

… _Meanwhile, in Vale, at the Crow Bar…_

"Woah, that was a little brutal if you ask me," the bartender notes at how the match went as he cleans another glass.

" _Huh, we might actually have some true huntsmen on our hands. Well, aside from my nieces, that is,"_ a mysterious man in a gray dress shirt and red cape mentally notes, but doesn't make any vocal comment about it.

The bartender looks at him, "Aw, come on man. That fight didn't do anything for you?" he asks. The man just grunts back as an answer. "Come on, man. You didn't like them, the Haven boys, the Vale kids, or any of the rounds before that?! What fight are you here for?" the bartender asks.

The man then looks back when he notices an airship with four long blue ribbons fluttering behind it fly by the city. He then turns back to the bartender.

"THAT one," he replies before getting up and chugging his drink, feeling a little wobbly from it. "Happy Vytal Festival," the man says, placing his glass back onto the booth and throwing some lien onto the table before leaving.

The bartender watches him leave before placing one glass onto the booth ad reaching for another one, pulling back his arm to accidently hit the freshly cleaned glass, knocking it off the booth and shattering on the ground.

"Aw, gee darn it," he says at his mistake.

… _Back at the arena…_

Team RWBY look on at Team KEPL's victory from the stands.

"Geez, they completely kicked that other team's butt. Show offs," Yang says.

"Well, of course we knew they would win. They do have a lot more training and experience than pretty much every other team here, including ours," Blake notes.

"Well, if we end up facing them in the future rounds, we'll just have to beat them and win," Weiss adds.

"Yeah, nothing can beat Team RWBY!" Ruby cheers.

"That concludes the matches for today. Please leave the coliseum in A CALM AND ORDERLY FASHION!" Oobleck screams, making Team RWBY wince at his loud voice.

"Come on, let's go congratulate them," Yang says as they get up to leave.

As the team leaves, Weiss notices the airship from before flying by the coliseum, and stops, making Ruby walk into her.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Ruby asks as she backs away from Weiss, who doesn't look back to her.

Seeing the airship makes Weiss show a big smile, "…She's here," she happily says.

In the arena below, Khazhak also notices the airship fly by, and narrows his eyes at it.

" _So…She's here as well,"_ he mentally notes.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Another long one, but it did have some new OCs and three fights in it. Anyway, Team KEPL move on to the next round, but now a new player has entered the game, one that Khazhak seems to know. Who is this new player and how does Khazhak know them? How will Team KEPL fair in the next round of the tournament? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	43. Chapter 38: Finally, a Challenge

**Here we are at Chapter 38. Time for a real fight for Khazhak. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 38. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 38: Finally, a Challenge**

Having left Porphyrius and Lloyd to their own devices after the match, Khazhak and Reaper immediately make their way to the landing platforms at the school.

"So, she's shown up here now as well. Things just keep getting interesting," Reaper notes as he follows Khazhak.

"Indeed. This should be interesting," Khazhak replies, but then notices Ruby beginning to make her way to the platforms as well. "Hey, little rose!" he calls out to her, making her stop.

"Khazhak! Um, sorry but I need to go right now," she says.

"What are you-," Khazhak says before they hear some noise up ahead. "What was that?" he asks.

"I don't know. I was with Weiss earlier when we met her older sister, Winter. But then they left and I went my own way, but shortly after I left, I heard some noise and saw a crowd forming up ahead. Now, I'm worried," Ruby explains.

"Then let's check it out," Reaper says.

The three head to the courtyard to see a large crowd form, and hear what sounds like the sounds of combat up ahead of them. Moving through the crowd, the three see Weiss, who is watching two other people fighting in the center of the courtyard. One is a tall young woman, with pale skin, white hair and medium-light blue eyes. Her hair is tied up in a bun at the back of her head, with the exception of her bangs, which are brushed off to the right side of her face, and a small lock of hair that reaches below her left ear. Her attire consists of a long white open jacket, with slits open on the sleeves going from her shoulders to her elbows. The jacket is buttoned only under her chest and has gray edging on the sides and around her shoulders. Under the jacket, is a dark blue buttoned up shirt that covers her chest, followed by what looks to be a white shirt above it covering the rest of her upper chest. Around her neck appears to be a gray, cross-pointed pendant with a red gem in the center. She is wearing black gloves that end before her elbows. She is wearing white pants with black vertical lines, and thigh-high high-heeled gray boots that appear to be made of metal. Under the tail of her long jacket is a white translucent piece of fabric that ends to where the tail of her long jacket ends. She is wielding a saber of sorts.

The other is a man with graying black, spikey hair with the bangs hanging down, signifying his age, red eyes, a slight stubble along his jawline, with a red tattered cloak, wearing a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. He is also wearing a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right fourth finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant. His weapon is a large sword with gears in the hilt.

The three move to Weiss, "What's going on?!" Ruby asks.

"Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" Weiss answers, gesturing to the fight in front of them.

"Oh no! Who would do such a-THAT IS MY UNCLE!" Ruby shouts for joy as she sees her uncle in the fight.

"WHAT?!" Weiss shrieks, shocked at the admission.

"Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cheers her uncle on.

"Uh, teach him respect, Winter!" Weiss cheers her sister on.

" _So that's Qrow Branwen. And he's fighting Winter Schnee of all people,"_ Reaper mentally notes before he looks at Khazhak, noticing Khazhak hungrily smiling at the fight. _"Uh oh, I know that look."_

Back to the fight, Qrow makes another swing at Winter, but she reels back from it before swinging her sword downward at him, to which he blocks with his sword. Qrow then counters by striking at her again, but she blocks his strike. Qrow ducks under her before swinging his blade upwards at her, which she bends backwards to avoid and moves back. Qrow then spins around with another swing, which Winter blocks again before she thrusts her sword at his head, but hee blocks her counterattack. Qrow makes another failed strike at her again, and then runs at her as she jumps back. However, as they are about to clash again, a newcomer suddenly steps in between them, blocking both of their swords with his own, surprising both of them.

"Is this a private fight, or can anyone mix in?" the person turns out to be Khazhak, who smiles at them like a predator would smile at his prey. Khazhak then pushes them back, his blades already charged up from his semblance. "LIGHTNING SLASH!" he yells as he swings both swords, sending two blue lightning waves at Winter, who jumps back to avoid them. Khazhak then clashes his blades against Qrow's and they stare at each other. "Nice to finally meet you, Qrow Branwen. My Master has told me much about you," he says.

"Your master?" Qrow questions him.

"I'll give you a hint. She wears a Grimm mask and wields a long red sword," Khazhak replies.

"Raven?!" Qrow replies at the realization.

"Bingo!" Khazhak replies before pushing their blades up and then kicking Qrow away, making him slide back on the ground. Khazhak then turns to see Winter charging at him, but he fires his sword guns at her, making her stop to block the shots. "Been a while Winter Schnee. Did you miss me?" Khazhak jokingly asks her.

"Khazhak?!" Winter yells, recognizing the young man. "What are YOU doing here?!" she asks.

"Haven't you heard? I'm a student here at Beacon, along with my teammates. Now then…let's dance," Khazhak says before running at Winter.

When he gets close, Khazhak spins around and swings his swords at her, but she backflips under the attacks and then counters with an upward slash of her own. Khazhak blocks it with his left sword, pushes it away, and then makes another swing with his right sword. Winter deflects the strike, and then thrusts her sword at Khazhak. However, Khazhak jumps over the strike to reveal Qrow coming in and swinging his sword at her blade. The two warriors clash their blades before jumping back as Khazhak tries to impale his swords into them, but misses in between them. The three then clash swords again as Ruby, Weiss, and Reaper look on.

"What is wrong with him?! This fight doesn't even involve him!" Weiss yells.

"It doesn't have to," Reaper says, getting their attention. "One thing about Khazhak is that he is always seeking to become stronger. To him, the best way to do so is by facing strong opponents, warriors that can force him to fight seriously and push him to his limits. Qrow and Winter seem to fit that description. Now, you girls are good, but not good enough to push him to his limit unless more than one of you fight him together. Porphyrius, Lloyd, and I can't even bring him to his limit anymore because he knows everything about our fighting styles, all our tricks, so we can't surprise him," Reaper explains as they watch the fight continue.

Khazhak pushes them back again, only for Qrow to reel his sword back. Khazhak fires his sword guns to quickly propel him away from Qrow while Winter summons a glyph like Weiss' under her feet, using it to shoot her away, all as Qrow smashes his sword into the ground, creating a large crater on the stone path. He looks up to se Khazhak and Winter land further away and runs at them. As Winter lands, she looks to see Khazhak jump up and slam his swords on her blade that she uses to block the attack. However, they both look back to see Qrow jump to them, swinging his sword and cutting through a lamppost as they dodge the swing. Winter flips over him, with Qrow blocking a strike by her, and then swings his sword at Khazhak as he charges at him, pushing him back. After that, Qrow swings his sword at Winter behind him, who smirks and jumps back over him, landing on his sword after his swing, and then backflip kicks him in the face. As she lands, Khazhak kicks her back to Qrow, who prepares to attack her again. Winter then jumps into the air, making Qrow miss her and swing his sword at Khazhak, who fires his sword guns again to send him into the air away from him and Winter. Winter lands on another lamppost, but then jumps off of it as Qrow fires his shotguns at her. Qrow's blade folds down whenever he fires the shotguns, but then folds back up as he reloads and fires again, this time at Khazhak. Khazhak fires his sword guns again, evading the shot, and stabs his left blade into the side of the left archway in the courtyard, while Winter makes the same motion, but on the right archway in the school courtyard. The two start running up the side of their archways, while Qrow runs after them down the main avenue. As he runs after them, he fires more shotgun blasts at them, to which they avoid by running along the top of the archways.

As they're running, Khazhak fires his sword guns at both Winter and Qrow, who do what they can to run and evade the shots. However, at one point, Qrow fires a shot that hits Khazhak as he fires a shot that hits Winter, the both of them being engulfed in smoke. Qrow looks on, narrowing his eyes for a moment before Winter and Khazhak emerge from the smoke, both falling towards him as they all near each other. Qrow smiles and readies his blade, while Winter hits a switch on her sword handle, opening it up and shooting out a smaller estoc blade from the main blade into her left hand, and Khazhak charges lightning around his swords. Qrow jumps into the air to meet them, and they all clash with their blades together before they crash into the ground, making another crater.

However, the three fighters quickly appear out of the crater as they continue to slash at each other with their swords. Khazhak slashes his chainsaw swords at Qrow, making him slide back across the main avenue, while Khazhak gets pushed back by Winter swords, making him slide back. Khazhak impales his swords into the ground to stop him from sliding across the ground, with Qrow doing the same thing behind him. The two eventually stop, with Khazhak once again in the middle of Qrow and Winter. Winter looks at them before swinging her right sword around and then stabbing it into the ground, causing a large glyph to appear. However, along with this glyph, she suddenly summons a flock of small, pale blue Nevermore familiars from the glyph. The flock of Grimm familiars fly towards the other two, but Khazhak charges up his swords.

"LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" he yells as he swings his swords, unleashing a swarm of lightning bolts that take out the Nevermore familiars that come after him.

The remaining familiars go after Qrow, who uses his blade to block the assault, while a few more familiars fly around Winter as a shield. Winter smirks at Qrow's expense, but then he sends out a crescent wave of energy that Khazhak rolls out of the way of while Winter jumps back from it, ending her summoning. They all stare at each other before Winter conjures up another glyph behind her. Meanwhile, Khazhak fuses his swords into their greatsword form, charging up his semblance for the next attack. Behind him, Qrow flicks his sword down, causing the gears in the handle to start moving as the blade separates into different segments and starts to fold up into a curved blade. Winter takes a stance as the glyph behind her spins faster, preparing to attack them. However, Khazhak notices something and then stops charging up his blades, holsters his blades back onto his belt, and calmly walks back to the crowd. Qrow and Winter look at him confused, but then Qrow looks back at Winter, noticing something as well. He then stops his sword's transformation, and retracts the blade before placing it back on his back. Winter looks at him confused, while Qrow just leers at her before motioning with his finger for her to come at him. Winter screams and uses the glyph to shoot her over to Qrow, who makes no movements. However, just before the blade stabs his throat, a voice rings out.

"SCHNEE!" the voice calls her, making her stop her attack just short of hitting Qrow's neck.

Winter stops and looks back to see General Ironwood standing behind her, with Penny hiding behind him.

"General Ironwood, sir!" Winter says, turning to him and standing at attention as a soldier.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" he questions her as he walks up to them, with Penny looking around him.

"HE started the altercation, sir," Winter says while Qrow calmly rests his hands behind his head.

"That's actually not true. She attacked first. Then that boy over there decided to join in later in the fight, so it wasn't our fault," Qrow interjects while motioning to Khazhak, who just waves to them.

"…Is that right?" Ironwood inquires, which makes Winter look away. Ironwood then looks around at the crowd that has formed in the courtyard around the previous fight scene. "And YOU," Ironwood says as he looks at Qrow, who just points at himself with a face that playfully says, "Who, me?" Ironwood walks up to him, "What are YOU doing HERE?" Ironwood asks.

"I could be asking you the same thing," Qrow replies.

"I-," Ironwood begins.

"Now, now, everyone," they hear a voice and look back to see Professors Ozpin and Goodwitch joining the scene. "There is a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner at the Coliseum, which I can assure you has better seats, and popcorn," Ozpin says.

"Break it up everyone! WE will take care of this mess," Glynda says while Ozpin shakes his coffee mug.

Ironwood fixes his tie, "Let's go," he orders, and he, Winter, Penny, and his robots walk back to the school building.

Ruby, Weiss, and Reaper walk through the crowd to see them leave. Penny looks back to them, smiling as she waves back to her friends. Reaper and Weiss smile back, while Ruby smiles with a wave back to Penny. But then…

"UNCLE QROOOOWWWWW!" Ruby happily shouts as she jumps to her uncle, latching her herself around his right arm, making him look down at her. "Hi," she greets him as he raises his right arm, with her still dangling from it. "Oh, it's so good to see you. Did you miss me? DID YOU MISS ME?!" Ruby excitedly asks as she leans closer to him.

Qrow looks at her for a moment, "…Nope," he playfully replies, smiling at her as he rubs her head.

"Qrow," they look back, with Ruby dropping from his arm, at Ozpin. "A word, please," Ozpin says while Glynda repairs the crater Qrow left during the fight.

Qrow puts a hand to his face and leans to Ruby as she gets back up, "I think I'm in trouble," he whispers.

"You did kind of tear up our courtyard," Ruby replies, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah, I did," Qrow winks at her, "Catch you later kid," he says, fist bumping her before leaving.

"And suddenly, your recklessness makes sense," Weiss says as she and Reaper walk up to Ruby, with Weiss crossing her arms.

"You're juts mad 'cuz he whopped butt," Ruby says, nudging Weiss with her elbow.

"That was a draw at BEST," Weiss retorts, arms down at her sides.

"Not from where I was standing," Khazhak jokes as he joins them.

"And YOU!" Weiss shouts, pointing at Khazhak. "What were you thinking, jumping in to the middle of that fight?! My sister could've killed you!" Weiss shouts.

"Oh please. Your sister is good, but even she isn't strong enough to kill me, especially since I've become stronger since the last time we met," Khazhak waves her off.

"Wait, you and Winter have met before? When did that happen?" Weiss asks.

"It would probably be best if she told you," Khazhak answers before looking at Ruby, who was staring at his swords. "Um, Ruby, what are you doing?" he asks.

"You were so cool, swinging your swords around in that fight. I've seen them plenty of times before, but I've never actually had the chance to inspect them. Can I see them?! PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE!" Ruby asks, full of energy.

"Uuuuhhhhhh, Reaper, a little help here," Khazhak looks to his partner, who looks away and whistles. "Seriously?!"

… _Later, in Cinder's room…_

Mercury had returned after secretly witnessing the first few seconds of the fight between Qrow and Winter, before Khazhak joined in, and is now sitting on a chair in the center of the room, with Cinder pacing back and forth in front of him.

"And you're sure?" she asks him.

"Bad hair, used a scythe, and smelled like my dad after a long day. It was him," Mercury answers, talking about Qrow.

"What do we do?" Emerald asks as she sits on Cinder's bed.

Cinder stops pacing, "…Nothing. We stay the course. They have no IDEA who we are, so we have no reason to worry," Cinder says and then walks to her desk, and picks up her scroll. "Besides, the last of the heavy lifting is being taken care of, thanks to our clever little friend. Ah, speaking of which," Cinder begins as Ironwood's face shows up on the screen, indicating they now have access to his scroll. "It appears we have a new access point," she says.

"Anywhere good?" Emerald asks.

"You could say that. Go to your rooms. I'll prepare everything for tomorrow," Cinder says.

"Yes, ma'am," Emerald replies.

"Got it," Mercury adds as they get up and leave the room.

Cinder works on her scroll, showing that she now has the control over the match randomization system, allowing her to set up whatever match up she desires.

"Let's give the crowd a good fight," she mischievously says as she works on her scroll, showing the pictures of Emerald and Mercury vs. Coco Adel and Yatsuhashi of Team CFVY.

 _…The next day, back at the coliseum…_

Back at the coliseum, the first day of the doubles round battles begins. The screen above shows the faces rolling down until it stops, showing the next match being Emerald and Mercury facing off against Coco and Yatsuhashi.

"The randomization process is complete! Ladies and gentlemen, your doubles tournament lineup!" Port announces as the crowd cheers in excitement and anticipation.

Teams RWBY, KEPL, JNPR, and SSSN are seen cheering in the stands as the first match gets set to begin. During this, Cinder slowly claps her hands, having an evil smile on her face.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. I couldn't resist writing out that fight scene. What did you guys think about it? Anyway, the tournament continues as everything moves ahead. What awaits our teams in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	44. Chapter 39: Lessons Learned

**Here we are at Chapter 39. We won't see too much going on for Team KEPL in this chapter, but they will be around for some certain events from the show. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 39. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 39: Lessons Learned**

… _At the Amnity Coliseum…_

Teams RWBY, KEPL, JNPR, and SSSN sit in the stands, with Team CFVY members Fox and Velvet sitting next to Ruby's right, and Cinder sitting behind them, as they prepare to watch the match between Mercury and Emerald vs. Coco and Yatsuhashi. The four fighters await in the center of the arena as the holographic roulettes for the arena sections spin. Emerald and Coco leisurely stand, while Mercury stands with his arms crossed, and Yatsuhashi sits on the ground in a meditative position.

"Emerald and Mercury of Haven vs. Coco and Yatsuhashi of Beacon," Port announces.

"Good luck, you two," Velvet cheers her teammates on.

" _Let's see who wins this match. Although, my money's on Mercury and Emerald. They seem like they have more experience than Coco and Yatsuhashi,"_ Khazhak mentally notes as he crosses his arms.

The arena roulettes end, and the center of the arena becomes surrounded by one side, behind Emerald and Mercury, being a savanna with tall grass and a tree, to their right is a destroyed urban area, behind Coco and Yatsuhashi is a geyser field, and to their right is a forest.

"Hey," Coco begins as she moves her aviators and looks Emerald up and down. "Love the outfit kid," she compliments Emerald's attire.

"I'll try not to get blood on it," Emerald replies, smirking.

Yatsuhashi stands up, "I can't promise you'll leave without a scratch," he says while drawing his sword.

"I won't be the one bleeding," Emerald replies as she flexes her left shoulder.

"Oh, I like her," Coco comments.

"...3, 2, 1…Begin!" Port declares, and the match begins.

Emerald and Mercury calmly walk back into the savanna section, concealing themselves in the tall grass. Coco and Yatsuhashi just look at each other before Coco changes her weapon into its gatling gun form. The crowd cheers for her, with some of them wearing the same hat and aviators as her. Coco then moves her weapon around as she fires a hail of bullets into the tall grass, strafing through it. Coco starts cutting down the tall grass with her bullets from her right to her left side, removing the tall grass from the battlefield. Some bullets fire towards the crowd, but luckily the shields protect them as they flinch back. Coco stops her attack, but Emerald and Mercury are nowhere to be found in the savanna section. Coco and Yatsuhashi just look at each other, confused, as they try to find their opponents.

"Look out!" Blake yells from the stands.

Suddenly, Mercury is seen falling towards Coco, swinging his legs as he gets ready to strike her. Coco looks up, but then Yatsuhashi pushes her away and blocks the attack with his sword. Yatsuhashi pushes Mercury away, who flips in the air before landing on the ground with his feet sliding across the floor. Coco fires her gatling gun at him, but Mercury runs around the center of the arena, evading the bullets as he closes in on them.

"He's good," Sun says as his team watches the fight.

"Yeah, but where's the girl?" Scarlet asks, noting that Emerald is still missing.

 _"So he WAS holding back against me in our fight. Just as I thought,"_ Khazhak mentally notes as he watches the fight.

When Mercury gets close, he ducks and then swings his legs around, which Coco blocks with her weapon, while Mercury jumps into the air. Mercury lands on the ground, he spins around, throwing a spinning hook kick at Yatsuhashi's sword, and then backflips into the air while kicking Yatsuhashi in the face, making him stumble backwards. As he lands, Mercury notices Coco aiming her weapon at him, and jumps into the air to dodge her attack. As Coco is firing, Mercury moves backwards in the air towards her, landing one leg on the barrel of her gatling gun, while using his left leg to hit her in the face, back-flipping in the air as he uses his boots to block a strike from Yatsuhashi. Landing in between them, Mercury jumps into the air, only to be backhanded by Yatsuhashi. However, Mercury quickly grabs Coco's left shoulder, and swings around, using his feet to push Coco's gun barrel into Yatsuhashi's stomach as he comes at them. Yatsuhashi stops and gasp, while Coco narrows her eyes back at Mercury, who just smirks at her. Changing her weapon back into a handbag, Coco swings her heavy bag at Mercury, who backflips away.

Mercury does two more backflips, pushing off his hands on the second one to fire his combat boots' guns, firing off two shots that swirl around each other in the air as they near their targets. Coco knocks one round out of the way with her handbag while Yatsuhashi cuts down the second round. However, when Coco looks back at Mercury, her eyes go wide. Mercury is seen break dancing in the arena, firing shots off from his boots, with the bullets flying around him like a twister. After a moment of break dancing, Mercury sends his torrent of bullets flying towards Coco and Yatsuhashi, the rounds exploding around them, building up smoke as they stumble back from the assault. As the smoke clears, Coco and Yatsuhashi regain their bearings, just as Mercury suddenly appears behind them. Coco looks back, and then Mercury grabs their arms, moving them to where Yatsuhashi is at Mercury's right, and Coco at his left. He kicks both of them two times in the stomach, each, using the fourth kick to push Yatsuhashi away while grabbing Coco's right arm. Mercury then moves his right leg over Coco's arm, kicking her twice in the face, before he knocks her onto the ground with his left leg hitting the back of her head. Mercury looks back and smirks at her.

Just then, a curved blade on a long chain shoots out from the forest section of the arena, wrapping around Coco's torso as she gets back up, and pulls her away into the forest section.

"Coco!" Yatsuhashi shouts, reaching for his teammate as she's pulled away.

Yatsuhashi then looks back in time to see Mercury spinning his body around into the air to hit Yatsuhashi in the face again. Mercury jumps up again for another attack, but Yatsuhashi grabs him in mid-air and uses his strength to throw Mercury into the geyser fields section, sliding across the ground as he lands on his back. Yatsuhashi jumps high into the air above him before bringing his sword down on him, to which Mercury blocks by putting his boots up to halt the attack. The collision causes a massive shockwave that breaks the field around the, causing several geysers to explode as sections of the ground shift and rocks fly into the air. Mercury pushes Yatsuhashi away, jumping back onto his feet and then does a sweep kick at his feet. Yatsuhashi jumps over Mercury and lands behind him as Mercury turns to face him. Yatsuhashi swings his sword at him, but Mercury ducks under the swing, and then throws a front kick at him, which Yatsuhashi deflects with his sword. Mercury spins around, using his left boot to block one strike from Yatsuhashi's sword, then reverses his spin to use his right boot to block a second strike. As Yatsuhashi holds his sword in a reverse grip and steps back, Mercury swings his left leg down onto the ground hard, causing some rocks to jump into the air. Mercury kicks one of the rocks into Yatsuhashi's chest, making him stumble back. Yatsuhashi spins around and swings at Mercury, but Mercury drops under it while deflecting the sword with his boots, and break dances again while firing two shots at Yatsuhashi, who uses his sword to block them, but stumbles back from the attack. As Yatsuhashi reels his sword back to attack again, Mercury lands his right leg on his torso, stopping him before doing a backflip kick to his face, sending Yatsuhashi onto the ground. As he lands, he notices his head directly over one geyser, and screams as it erupts into his face. A moment later, Yatsuhashi staggers to his feet, shaking his head to regain his bearings, only to see Mercury running at him before doing a front-flip kick to him.

Meanwhile, Coco continues to get pulled by the chain further into the forest, before the chain stops by pulling her into a tree, crashing at it as the chain releases her. Falling onto her hands and knees, Coco reaches for her face, only to notice that her aviators are gone. She looks to her left to see them on the forest floor, broken.

Coco gets back up, "I take it back…I don't like her," Coco says before hearing a shot ring out.

She looks right, and in slow motion, just barely bends backwards as a green bullet nearly hits her head. In normal motion, Coco does two backflips as she evades Emerald's bullets as she fires her pistols from a branch in a nearby tree. Coco lands on her feet and quickly changes her bag back into a gatling gun, proceeding to fire at Emerald. Emerald runs on the branch as she evades the bullets, and jumps into the air, firing in slow motion as her curved blades appear on her pistols. In normal motion, Emerald uses the blades to swing from branch to branch as she dodges the bullets, then disappearing behind a tree and making Coco stop firing as she loses sight of her. Coco looks around the tree, but can't find her.

"Damn," Coco swears, not noticing the faint whooshing sound behind her.

"Coco," she hears and looks behind her to see Yatsuhashi walking up to her, sword on his back.

"Watch out. She's in the trees," Coco warns him as a buzzer sound goes off.

She looks up to one of the big screens above the stands.

"Ooooh, and with that final blow, Yatsuhashi is eliminated," Port announces, showing Yatsuhashi taking that last hit from Mercury and his aura dropping to the red, getting eliminated.

"WHAT?!" Coco yells. She quickly looks back to see that Yatsuhashi is no longer behind her. Her right hand is shaking on the gun handle as Coco slowly steps around, looking around the forest for Emerald, not noticing Emerald quickly zoom by at one point. "Damn," she curses.

However, Coco doesn't notice Emerald slowly rise up from behind her, preparing one of her pistols to attack. Coco hears a blade being drawn and looks back only to see the blade come at her. A second later, Coco is seen flying into the air, landing on the ground next to Yatsuhashi, with both of them unconscious. Emerald casually walks out of the forest, swinging her left chain around, while Mercury stands over their defeated opponents, smirking at their victory.

"And with an amazing upset, Emerald and Mercury are victorious!" Oobleck announces the end of the match.

"Oh, Coco…" Velvet whimpers, hand to her mouth as she looks at her defeated teammates.

Fox puts a comforting hand on her right shoulder, not saying a word like he usually does, which cheers her up a little bit. Ruby looks at them before looking back to the arena, not noticing Cinder get up from her seat behind them and walk away. Meanwhile, Khazhak looks back to the arena.

 _"Those guys are a lot stronger than they appear to be. I'll need to keep my guard up should I face them in the future,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself, hand on his chin in deep thought.

 _…Later, at a local pavilion…_

A local pavilion away from the coliseum sits idly by in peace and quiet. The pavilion is ornate and open to the air, with the walls made up of two rows of columns and archways through which the sunlight streams in. Vines grow beautifully around the columns, with plants hanging down from above and growing in vases. Inside the pavilion, a large fountain is seen at the center, with seats and tables at the edges. A water feature of a lion is seen at one end. At one of the tables, Weiss and her older sister Winter have a conversation while eating some croissants and strawberries.

"You're…leaving?" Weiss somewhat sadly asks.

"Yes," Winter begins as she puts her cup down. "I was merely needed to oversee the transport of additional units to Vale. Our last shipment was lost to an ambush. I believe you had a run in with its cargo actually. It's fortunate those Paladins were still in the prototype stage, otherwise your teams may have not fared so well," Winter notes, making Weiss look down. Winter then places her left hand on Weiss' right. "Weiss…You've done…well. Out here on your own. You should be proud," Winter cheers her up, making Weiss smile again. "I'll be honest, it was quite amusing seeing Father's face the day you left for Beacon," Winter says, but this makes Weiss frown again. "Weiss, what's wrong? Did something happen between you and Father?" she asks, concerned.

"No, not like that. It's just…Before I tell you, I need to ask you. Back when you fought against Ruby's uncle and Khazhak, you seemed to know him. Where did you meet Khazhak?" she asks.

"Ah, yes. I was still surprised to find out that he and his group were students here. More so when you told me that they were your friends…It was nearly a year before you left for Beacon. I was sent with a few squads of soldiers to stop a Grimm attack on a village East of Atlas. However, when we arrived, we found that the Grimm had already been eliminated. When we searched the area, we found four young boys leaving the area. We told them to halt, and they turned to look at us before continuing to leave. We decided to try and apprehend them for questioning, but then they quickly defeated all the soldiers that were with me. It was just me and those four boys left. I asked why they were here and why they attacked us, and then the leader came up to me. He said his name was Khazhak Rairyu, and that they came to kill the Grimm attacking the village, and that they only attacked my men because we tried to restrain them. I wasn't going to let this stand, and was prepared to fight all four of them. However, Khazhak ordered his comrades to stay back while he faced me one-on-one. We fought against each other, and throughout most of the battle, it looked like I held the upper hand. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case when Khazhak started to get serious and released his true strength. He managed to force me back, and took over the flow of the battle until it ended in a draw. However, I don't believe it truly ended in a draw since I was on one knee at the end while he remained on two feet," Winter explains, shocking Weiss.

"What?! You mean he actually held his own against you in a fight?!" Weiss nearly shouts.

"As much as it pains me to admit it, yes. After the fight, I asked him if he and his group would like to join the Atlesian military, it was not a bad deal. However, they spitefully declined, saying that they would never work for a group that harmed one of their own, and then left the area. It is something that still confuses me to this day," Winter says, looking down.

"They were talking about Lloyd," Weiss mentions.

"Lloyd?" Winter asks.

"Yes, Lloyd Jyousai. He's one of Khazhak' teammates, the one in the gray armor, and is also Khazhak's sworn brother…Have you heard about an Atlas super-soldier program that got shut down a few years ago?" Weiss asks.

"I wasn't part of the project, nor did I have any knowledge regarding that, but I did hear of it. How did you learn of it?" Winter inquires.

"I eventually learned about it from Khazhak and Lloyd. As it turns out, Lloyd was a test subject in the program, and got turned into a cyborg because of it. Eventually, Khazhak learned about it and destroyed the facility, and then found Lloyd. That's how it all went down. So you see, while I am not taking their side over yours, I can understand why they wouldn't want to work for a group that took away their comrade's humanity. It's a touchy subject for them," Weiss explains.

"I see…Well to be honest, I was not a big fan of the project, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. I guess it's good that Khazhak shut it down in a way…Now with that out of the way, can you give me your answer to my previous question?" Winter asks.

"…It's not that something happened between me and Father. It's that something happened between him and another member of Khazhak's team, Porphyrius Darkwing. He's the one with the purple clothing and the eyepatch over his right eye," Weiss replies.

"I remember him from our last encounter. He kept glaring at me with so much bloodlust, that I could practically feel it all over my skin. But please, continue," Winter says.

"You see, while there is no concrete proof to this, Khazhak told me that Porphyrius's parents were killed, and that our father planned the whole thing," Weiss confesses.

This makes Winter go wide-eyed, "You can't be serious? Why would father have his parents killed? Who were they?" Winter asks.

"Porphyrius' father was a worker in our family company labor camps, and one day he protested against our father for better conditions for the workers. This, our father did not like one bit," Weiss says, getting a solemn look on her face. "After that, a group of men killed his father, and then raped and murdered his mother before torturing him, and leaving him to die. Khazhak eventually met Porphyrius, found out about his tragedy, and looked into the matter himself. He found and killed the men that did the crimes, the investigators that hired them and then the man that hired the investigators. The man never told him the truth, but Khazhak believes our father planned the hit on Porphyrius' parents," Weiss says.

"And you believe him?" Winter questions her.

"No, but…I can't really disprove his theory either. You and I both know the kind of person Father can be sometimes when he doesn't get his way. That's why it's always a tough subject for me. Originally, Porphyrius and I didn't get along, and Khazhak almost killed me one time too, but Ruby convinced him not to go through with it. Since then Porphyrius and I have been getting better at being friends, and he eventually forgave me for all my shortcomings, though Father is still a different story," Weiss further explains.

"…I see," Winter thinks for a moment. "…Well I guess I can try and look into the matter personally, and discreetly, to see if his theory has any merit," Winter declares.

"What? You don't have to do that!" Weiss shrieks.

"It's okay. I can handle this. So until then, why don't we focus on something less…dark," Winter suggests.

"I…guess that works. Well…I've learned a lot since I came here," Weiss says, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Oh, and what do you think you've learned?" Winter inquires, elbows on the table and her hands together.

"What do you mean? I'm getting better and better with my glyphs. I've even started time dilation," Weiss replies.

"And what of your summoning?" Winter inquires.

"I, mmph, you know I can't," Weiss says, looking away.

"Don't be ridiculous. Every Schnee has the ability to summon. We have for generations," Winter says.

"I've TRIED! It's just…It's the ONE thing I'm having trouble with," Weiss frustratingly replies.

"We Schnees are unique. Unlike many, our semblance's hereditary, but that doesn't mean it will come easily. Your semblance is like a muscle," Winter begins, raising her right hand and forming a small glyph over it. "The more you practice with it, the stronger it will become. But if you only focus on one aspect of it, if you fail to test the limits of what you think is possible…" Winter explains as the glyph explodes, blinding Weiss for a moment as she shields her eyes with her left arm. When she looks back, she sees a pale blue version of a Beowolf Grimm standing behind Winter as it growls before leaning its head next to Winter's. "…Then you will never truly grow," Winter says as she pets the Grimm familiar.

This makes Weiss slowly smile, until a voice is heard behind them.

"At least that's one thing we can agree on, Winter Schnee," they look behind them to see Porphyrius appearing from an entrance to the pavilion.

"Porphyrius?" Weiss says, as the Grimm familiar stands in between them, ready to attack.

"May I ask what you are doing here?" Winter questions him.

"I didn't come here to fight, even if I wanted to. Khazhak's ordered me not to fight you while you are here," Porphyrius replies.

Winter then has the familiar dissipate, "Then why are you here?" Winter asks.

"…To talk," Porphyrius answers her.

 _…Later, at Beacon…_

Back at Beacon, Qrow Branwen had just enjoyed some time with his nieces, and giving them some important advice. However, he felt it was time to leave so he said goodbye after giving them some advice. As he's leaving their dorm room, he finds Khazhak Rairyu leaning against the wall outside their dorm room, with his arms crossed.

"I thought I felt someone listening in on us. Have you come for a rematch from yesterday?" Qrow taunts him.

"As much as I would love to kick your butt, old man, no, I'm not here to fight you. For now anyway," Khazhak taunts back.

Qrow starts walking by him, with Khazhak walking beside him with his hands clasped behind his back.

"So, you're my sister's apprentice, huh? Hard to believe since Raven was never the teaching type. When did she start training kids like you?" Qrow asks as they walk through the halls.

"I wouldn't exactly call us master and apprentice, but in one perspective, that's about right. Although I don't see my Master that often. The only times I do see her is usually when she wants to fight me to see how far I'm progressing, and offering little bits of oral lessons in our exchanges," Khazhak explains.

"That sounds more like my sister. So, how many times have you faced off with her?" Qrow inquires.

"I've fought against her five times…and she's wiped the floor with me five times," Khazhak answers.

Qrow chuckles, "Yeah, my sister may not be much of a people person, but she's no slouch when it comes to fighting," Qrow says before getting serious. "Does Yang know about you two?" he asks.

"No, my Master told me not to reveal the truth to her about us. I didn't ask why, but I can only assume it has something to do with how Yang has been searching for her all this time, a child looking for her long lost mother. Besides, even if she did find out, I couldn't help because I have no idea where my Master is. She comes to me randomly, not the other way around, and leaves as quickly as she arrives," Khazhak explains.

"Have you ever thought about getting them together one of these days, so they can sort some things out?" Qrow asks further.

Khazhak thinks for a moment, "…I have, but only when I feel the time is right, and when I know where my Master is," Khazhak answers.

"…I see," Qrow replies as he looks ahead, deep in thought.

 _Back With Weiss, Winter, and Porphyrius…_

Back at the pavilion, Porphyrius leans against a column as he watches Weiss practice her summoning, with Winter standing behind her. Right now, Weiss has her rapier aimed at the floor, where a glyph with four swords is spinning on the ground.

"Excellent form. Now, think to your fallen foes, the ones that forced you to push yourself past who you were, and become who you are now," Winter instructs Weiss. The glyph below starts to flutter. "Think of them, and watch as they come to your side," Winter continues.

Weiss clenches her teeth in frustration as the glyph spins faster, and then gets smaller.

"I CAN'T," Weiss proclaims, stomping her right foot as the glyph dissipates.

Winter smacks her head, "Stop doubting yourself," Winter berates her.

"I'm TRYING!" Weiss retorts as she looks at Winter.

 _"Isn't it lovely when siblings get along so well,"_ Porphyrius mentally jokes while shaking his head at the display.

"If this is what you call trying, then you have NO hope of winning the tournament, let alone succeeding as a huntress. Why don't you just move back home? I'm sure Father will give you a nice job as a RECEPTIONIST," Winter criticizes her.

"I don't NEED his charity," Weiss retorts, looking away.

Winter leans in, "But you DO need his money, don't you," Winter says, seeing through her sister.

"WHAT?! How did you know about that?!" Weiss exclaims as she looks back at Winter, who leans back.

"Lucky guess. I may have been in a similar situation when I joined the military. So what have you done this time?" Winter asks.

"You mean besides ignoring his calls," Porphyrius mutters.

"Well, that's the thing, I'm really not sure. I went to pay for lunch the other day, but my card didn't work," Weiss explains as Winter walks around her.

"How EMBARRASSING," Winter sarcastically replies, making Porphyrius chuckle.

"I know!" Weiss shouts as she turns to look at Winter, who just shakes her head. "Well it WAS. Why would he cut me off like that?" Weiss says.

"Perhaps so you'd stop avoiding him and call home," Winter answers.

Weiss grinds her teeth and turns around to create the same glyph from before, but it spins faster than normal. Winter walks up to her and places a comforting hand on her left shoulder.

"Emotions can grant you strength, but you must never let them overpower you," Winter calms her down, making the glyph dissipate again.

"Yeah, I know this from first-hand experience. I nearly let them get the better of me, but luckily Khazhak helped me learn to control my emotions better, and reminded me not to make the same mistakes as him," Porphyrius adds as he walks up to them.

"Indeed. Now, it sounds, to me, like you have two choices in front of you. You can either call him, beg for his money back, and explain once more why you want to study at Beacon over Atlas…Or, you could continue to explore Remnant. Discovering more about the world, and honestly…more about yourself," Winter advises her, making Weiss look down in thought. "…It's time for me to go," Winter says and brings Weiss in for a warm hug. Which she lovingly returns.

"It was really good to see you Winter," Weiss says as the end the embrace.

"Until next time, sister," Winter says and then looks at Porphyrius. "It was a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Porphyrius Darkwing. Our conversation earlier was…enlightening in a way. I'm glad to know that Weiss has strong friends and allies to support her here…And I'm sorry for whatever my father may have done to you and your family," Winter says as she extends her hand for a handshake.

Porphyrius looks at her hand for a moment before staring back at her.

Porphyrius sighs, "I still can't forgive your father for what he did to me, nor can I forgive the Atlas military for what they did to Lloyd…But I now know not to judge every book by its cover. I can see that you truly care for you sister, and that you're not a mindless drone like those machines, even if you do work for Ironwood," Porphyrius says and shakes her hand, wearing a smile on his face. "It was good to meet you," he replies as they end their handshake, now on better terms with each other.

The three walk out of the pavilion, with Winter turning to go right while Weiss and Porphyrius go left. However, none of them notice a small blue sword, the size of an insect, impaled into the ground in the pavilion, next to a green caterpillar before it dissipates. Later that night, Weiss and Porphyrius are out in the school courtyard, with Weiss waving her right hand goodbye as Winter's airship takes off into the night sky and leaves. A moment later, Weiss' scroll rings, and she pulls it out to see that her father is calling her again. She goes to answer it, but hesitates and thinks for a moment before smiling as she hangs up her scroll and puts it away. She looks at Porphyrius, who nods in support of her choice, and then they both head back to their dorms. However, neither of them notice Khazhak watching from one of the archways, a small smile on his face as he sees them getting along better. A moment later though, that smiles disappears and a serious expression takes its place.

"You can come out now…Voshkie'ahk," Khazhak says and looks behind him.

A moment later, Khazhak's sister, Voshkie'ahk, steps out from behind one of the columns of the archway, and walks towards Khazhak.

"Your senses are still sharp as ever, big brother," She says, smiling at him.

"Why have you come here? Did you come to test me again?" Khazhak asks.

"Not this time, but my associate may have me test you again in the future. What, a girl can't come to visit her dear older brother after all this time?" Voshkie'ahk playfully asks.

"Maybe, but only because I thought you had been dead for five years. And suddenly, here you are, alive, and the first thing you do when we reunite is fight me. Kind of makes me a little cautious, even with you," Khazhak explains, grasping the handle of his left sword.

"Listen, I came to offer you a warning. The people you and your friends have been looking for are preparing to enact their plan, but I don't know what it is exactly. You and your friends need to be extremely careful in the days to come as the tournament continues," Voshkie'ahk explains.

Khazhak thinks for a moment, "You think they may do something that involves the Vytal Tournament?" he asks.

"I'm not sure, but my associate and I will keep looking, and hopefully I can keep you posted," Voshkie'ahk replies.

"This associate of yours. Care to tell me who they are?" Khazhak inquires.

"I can't say right now. I promised them I wouldn't. You remember that one of Father's most important lessons was 'to never break a promise or oath you make," Voshkie'ahk replies.

Khazhak thinks for a moment and then sighs, "Very well. Just answer me this. Does your associate plan to put my comrades in danger?" Khazhak asks, narrowing his eyes at her.

Voshkie'ahk shakes her head, "No, trust me when I say my associate is a friend. They just…have a way of doing things, that's all. I still can't tell you everything yet, but know that I am fine right now, and that we are not your enemies," Voshkie'ahk defends her position.

Khazhak sighs again, "So be it. But tell you associate that if they ever DO put my comrades in danger, I WILL find them and bring my judgment down upon them," Khazhak warns her before he turns to walk away.

"Wait, Khazhak!" Voshkie'ahk calls out to him. Khazhak stops and turns to her. "Before you go, can I…well I was wondering if…" she trails off, looking down.

"What is it?" Khazhak asks.

Voshkie'ahk extends her arms "Can I…get a hug from my big brother? It has been five years since I saw you aside from the train incident," she pleads.

Khazhak thinks for a moment before he walks up to her and pulls her into a gentle embrace, to which she happily returns.

"You don't know how happy I was to find out that you were alive. I missed you, Voshkie," Khazhak confesses.

"I missed you too, Khazzy," she replies as the siblings continue to hold each other.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Another long one. A little dive into Team KEPL's past and how they met Winter, as well as learning more about Khazhak and Raven's association. Porphyrius had made amends with Winter, so that's a plus, and we saw Voshkie'ahk again. Who knows what awaits them in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	45. Chapter 40: Dominance

**Here we are at Chapter 40. Let's get underway with the next part of the tournament. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 40. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 40: Dominance**

… _In the Amnity Coliseum…_

Explosions ring out around the arena as Russel Thrush of Team CRDL runs to a mountain section of the arena, jumping over some rocks before looking back and using them as cover. Apparently, he and Sky Lark have been matched to go up against Penny and her partner in the doubles round. Penny calmly stands in the center of the arena with her partner standing behind her. Her partner is a young girl with dark skin and short, navy blue hair, blue eyes, and a gold marking consisting of an oval shape surrounded by four smaller circles in the center of her forehead. She is wearing a blue beret, a plain gray buttoned-down shirt with an asymmetrical collar, a blue combat skirt, and fingerless elbow-length black gloves with a wristwatch on her left hand. Penny pulls out several of her floating blades, spinning them around before she throws them at Russel. Russel ducks behind a boulder for cover as the blades shoot over at him, impaling themselves into the rock. Penny pulls out a second set, spinning them around, and then doing a front flip as she throws this set, this time aimed at Sky Lark. As they shoot over to him, Sky uses is halberd as a jump pole to push him over a rock that the blades impale themselves in, with him landing behind the rock. Sky looks at Russel, worried, while Russel just looks back at Penny.

Penny smiles and looks to her partner, who just raises an eyebrow while pointing at her wristwatch, signaling her to finish the match. Penny looks back and raises her arms into the air, making the blades lift the boulders, and the two boys holding onto them, into the air. Then Penny smashes the boulders, and the two boys, into the ground, breaking them apart and taking out the rest of Sky's and Russel's aura levels. The buzzer goes off as Penny retracts her swords back into her backpack.

"And victory goes to Penny and Ciel of Atlas!" Oobleck announces while Penny gives a martial artist bow to her opponents, and her partner has her hands on her hips.

"Thank you for a wonderful time," Penny happily says to her opponents.

Russel raises his head while still on the ground and reaches out to them, only for a rock to land on his head, knocking him out as Penny and her partner walk away.

Back in the stands, Teams RWBY and KEPL watch Penny's victory, and Ruby and Khazhak go to congratulate their friend. As Penny and her partner walk through the stands, Ruby and Khazhak appear behind them.

"Penny!" Ruby happily calls out.

"Ruby, Khazhak!" Penny says, happy to see them, and runs to them.

Khazhak quickly pushes Ruby in front of him, only for Penny to tackle her to the ground in a bone-crushing hug.

"Whhyyyyyyy," Ruby painfully mutters.

"Good to see you too, Penny," Khazhak greets them.

"Ruby, Khazhak, this is my teammate," Penny motions to her partner as she quickly gets back up, with Ruby slowly rising in pain.

"Ciel Soleil," Ciel introduces herself.

"Hi, I'm Ru-," Ruby begins.

"Ruby Rose, 15, hails from Patch, leader of Team RWBY. Status…questionable," Ciel speaks about Ruby, eliciting a frown from Khazhak.

"And I'm-," Khazhak begins.

"Khazhak Rairyu, 17, home unknown, leader of Team KEPL. Status…even more questionable," Ciel interrupts him, earning a low growl from Khazhak.

"Sooooo, Penny, you two were incredible out there. How do you keep control of those swords? It's so cool-," Ruby says.

"Penny, I believe it is best if we move on to our next location," Ciel tells her while pointing at her wristwatch.

Penny looks at Ruby and Khazhak before speaking to Ciel, "Could we have just a minute to talk?" Penny suggests.

Ciel looks at her wristwatch for a moment before she steps back and nods her head at her. Penny, Ruby, and Khazhak turn away to talk more privately.

"So, is she your friend, or…" Ruby trails off.

"Doesn't look that way to me. More like an emotionless soldier ordered to be here," Khazhak notes bitterly.

"Well, in a way…she's like Blake, but if Blake was ordered to spend time with you," Penny replies.

"Oh, so basically Weiss," Khazhak says.

"Precisely," Penny replies.

"Does she know about…you know, beep-boop-bop, does not compute," Ruby says, making robot moves with her arms, dangling her right arm with a creaking noise coming from it.

Penny shakes her head, "Oh no, General Ironwood doesn't really want anyone to know. There was an incident with a magnet, but I was able to play it off," Penny says.

… _Flashback…_

Sometime earlier, back in the fairgrounds, Penny is wearing a wide-rimed hat on her head while standing next to Ciel, who is looking away. A gust of wind blows by, making the hat float up, revealing a circle-shaped magnet on her head. However, Penny quickly pulls the hat back down just as Ciel looks back at her, giving her an innocent smile.

… _Flashback end…_

Ruby and Penny laugh while Khazhak just chuckles at that story.

"Ruby, there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about," Penny says as they stop laughing and looks back to Ciel, who is busy watching her wristwatch. Penny looks back to them, "I want to stay at Beacon," she confesses.

"Penny, they'll never let you do that," Ruby says, losing her smile.

"Yeah, you may be a friend and a normal girl to us, but to them, you're just a tool," Khazhak sadly adds.

"I know, but I have a plan," Penny reassures them as Ciel steps up to them.

"It's been precisely ONE minute, ma'am," Ciel reminds her, pointing at her wristwatch.

"I'll talk to you more soon, Ruby, Khazhak," Penny says before she and Ciel turn to leave, but Penny turns and waves back to them with a smile, which Ruby and Khazhak return.

"Our next match will begin in fifteen minutes," Port announces over the speakers.

"Time for me to go," Khazhak says as he turns to leave.

"Oh yeah, you're match is up next. I'll be cheering for you, Khazhak," Ruby excitedly says.

Khazhak then pets her head, making her smile even more.

"If that's the case, then I guess I have no choice but to win," he says and walks to the arena.

With their two teams, Porphyrius stands up to go join up with Khazhak since him and Khazhak will be fighting in their doubles round. As Porphyrius walks away, Yang quickly catches up to him.

"Hey, Porphyrius," she calls out.

Porphyrius turns to her, "What's up Yang?" he asks.

Yang then leans in to his ear, "You win this match, and you'll get a special reward from me~," she whispers, making him blush.

"Um, uh, y-yeah, sure, I-I'll be sure to do that," Porphyrius stutters, quickly walking away while Yang giggles at his reaction.

Porphyrius joins up with Khazhak, who smirks at him.

"You're looking a little red, Porphyrius," he teases him.

Porphyrius covers his cheeks with his collar, "No, I'm not…Shut up," he retorts.

They step into the center of the arena and look ahead to see their opponents. The first opponent is a young girl with shoulder-length black hair, a fair complexion, and light green eyes. She is wearing a light green tunic of sorts with brown edging, with the tunic mainly covering the left side of her torso diagonally and having only a left sleeve, and then covering only a little of her right side. Under the tunic is a tight-fitting sleeveless brown shirt with light green edging. She has on a brown shoulder guard on her right shoulder, over a detached light green sleeve with brown edging. Around the tunic is a brown belt with a silver buckle. She is wearing brown pants with a light green belt, a pouch on her left hip, and brown and light green shoes. In her right hand, is a glaive with a light green edged blade, a brown staff with a few light green segments on it, a light green gun handle at the center, and a light green gun barrel at the end of the staff.

The second opponent is a tall, young man with a fair complexion, short spikey brown hair, blue eyes, and a noticeable scar in between his eyebrows. He is wearing a tight-fitting sleeveless brown shirt with sliver studs on the shoulders, and gray lines going down vertically and diagonally on the shirt. He is wearing brown shoulder pads with gray metal edging, with a small metal shoulder shield attached to the left shoulder pad. He has on a pair of brown fingerless gloves with metal studs at the wrists, a brown belt with a silver buckle, white pants with gray lines on the slides, and brown boots. Resting on his right shoulder is a battle axe with the blades having a brown edging, and a spiked end at the end of the staff part of the axe. They have been registered as Midori Kaze and Bruno Zerstorer, respectively, part of Team UMBR (Umber) from Atlas Academy.

"So, you're our opponents today?" Bruno says, emitting a slight German accent.

"Is that going to be a problem for you? I know you wanted to win this tournament, but sadly that dream is gonna have to come crashing down," Porphyrius taunts him.

"Actually no, I'm glad you're fighting us. Because now I can show that hot blonde you were talking to earlier what a real man looks like. Who knows, maybe after the tournament, we can go somewhere for a 'private' training lesson," Bruno mocks them, before looking at Yang and winking at her.

The gesture makes Yang shudder in disgust, with the rest of Teams RWBY and KEPL looking on wide-eyed to the arena. Khazhak looks at Porphyrius and can see him grinding his teeth, seething with anger.

"Khazhak, PLEASE let me have that one!" Porphyrius growls, eyeing Bruno.

"He's ALL yours, Porphyrius. Personally, I'm more interested in his partner," Khazhak says as he stares down Midori, who is shaking her head at her partner's antics.

Midori looks back at Khazhak, "I saw your match in the team rounds. For half of it, you practically danced around all four of your opponents by yourself without any issue. I must admit, I was hoping to fight you one-on-one," Midori says.

"Trust me, you're going to wish you WEREN'T fighting me today. Prepare to be judged," Khazhak taunts as the arena roulettes begin spinning.

A moment later, the arena changes, with one section being a desert with rock formations, a ruined city, a grassland, and an ice section. The four fighters prepare their weapons as they wait for the match to begin.

"3, 2, 1…Begin!" Oobleck announces and the match begins.

Khazhak jumps back while Porphyrius immediately rushes at Bruno, firing his rifles while Bruno blocks them with his axe as a shield. When he gets close, Bruno swings his axe at Porphyrius, but he jumps over him, firing his rifles which hit their mark, and then lands behind him to run to the ruined city section of the arena, with Bruno giving chase. Meanwhile, Midori follows Khazhak into the grasslands sections of the arena behind him, who patiently waits for her. Midori then runs at Khazhak, twirling her glaive until she gets close and swings downwards on him, only for Khazhak to deflect the strike with his left blade and then kick her in the stomach. Midori regains her footing and looks back to Khazhak, who just smirks at her. Midori growls and then swings her glaive around to point the gun barrel at him, firing off a few shots, but Khazhak blocks them by swinging his swords around at the bullets. Midori then switches back to the blade end of her weapon and charges at Khazhak again. When she gets close, Khazhak swings his right blade at her, colliding with her weapon, and then pushes her back with an upward slash of his left sword. As she stops skidding back, Khazhak combines his swords into their dual spear form, twirling it above him before resting it behind him and then jumping into the air. While in mid-air, Khazhak fires off the sword gun aimed behind him, shooting him towards Midori. Midori jumps back as he slams his dual spear into the ground, making a small crater. Midori retaliates by running at Khazhak again, the two of them clashing their weapons together.

Meanwhile, Porphyrius is running around pieces of destroyed buildings in the ruined city section, with Bruno trailing behind him as he smashes through the pieces by swinging his axe around. When the path is clear, Bruno aims his axe at Porphyrius, who takes cover inside what looks like a damaged gas station, and hits a button, firing off the bladed head of the axe towards the building. The axe head smashes through the gas station, making it fall part onto the ground. Bruno retracts his axe and walks up to the remains of the building as the smoke clears, only to see that Porphyrius is nowhere in sight. Bruno looks around, shocked, and then gets hit in the back of the head by a bullet. Bruno rubs his head as he looks back to see Porphyrius running at him from his rear. Bruno swings his axe sideways at him, but Porphyrius slides under the strike, slashing his right blade at Bruno's legs, making him fall to one knee. Bruno gets back up, only to see Porphyrius jump over him, land in front of him and then backflip kick him in the face. As Bruno lands, he rolls back onto his feet, only to get hit by a rain of bullets as Porphyrius fires his rifles at him. Getting mad, Bruno fires his axe head at Porphyrius again, but Porphyrius jumps over it and away from Bruno as he starts running away from him again, with Bruno chasing him.

Back with Khazhak, he spins his dual spear around before he deflects another strike from Midori, making her stumble back as he charges up his semblance.

"LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" he yells as he swings his weapon, sending out a swarm of lightning bolts that hit the ground and explode around Midori, disorienting her.

When the smoke clears, Midori looks to see Khazhak right in front of her, swinging his dual spear around to knock her weapon away and deal three strikes at her before side kicking her away next to her weapon. Midori picks up her weapon and fires more rounds at Khazhak, which he blocks by spinning his weapon in front of him as a shield. After the failed attack, Midori runs at Khazhak again, swinging low at his feet. Khazhak jumps over her swing and then blocks another strike from her weapon, which sends him backwards, but he easily lands back on his feet. Midori charges him again, twirling her weapon around before she spins her body around and then swings at Khazhak. However, Khazhak blocks the blade with his left gauntlet, then grabs her weapon and swings his upwards, nailing her into the air. In slow motion, Khazhak grabs her left ankle, and then in normal motion, slams her into the ground before swinging her around, and then throwing her into an ice rock in the ice section behind them. As she falls to the ground, Khazhak spins his weapon around as he charges up his semblance. Midori slowly gets back up, but it's too late.

"LIGHTNING DEVASTATION!" Khazhak yells as he swings his dual spear, sending out a buzzsaw of blue lighting that smashes into Midori in a big explosion.

The attack takes out the rest of her aura, eliminating her from the match as she lies on the ground, unconscious.

"Oooooh, and with that, Khazhak eliminates Midori in an overwhelming display!" Oobleck says as the buzzer goes off.

Meanwhile, Porphyrius continues to run away from Bruno, firing off shots at him, with only a few hitting their mark. Bruno deflects the rest with his axe, and gets increasingly agitated with Porphyrius.

"Stop running and fight me, you coward!" he yells before firing his axe head again at him.

Porphyrius rolls underneath the strike and then backflips out of the way as Bruno retracts his axe back to him. When Porphyrius lands, he sees Bruno make a swing at him, and jumps over the attack. As Bruno stops his attack, Porphyrius lands on the blade of his axe, making him look up only to get kicked in the face. As Bruno stumbles back, Porphyrius starts up his semblance, aiming his rifles at Bruno.

"Dark Void Anchor!" he yells, firing off his gravity shots that hit Bruno's axe, and then Bruno. Bruno kneels to the ground, unable to move or lift his weapon because of the gravity shots holding him down. He looks up to see Porphyrius walking up to him. "Now I really don't care about what you say about me, or my teammates," Porphyrius begins as he leans in with his face close to Bruno's, staring him down. "But you don't EVER say anything that disrespectful to Yang," he threatens him.

Porphyrius then swings his blades upwards, knocking Bruno into the air, simultaneously deactivating his semblance. Porphyrius then fires his rifles at Bruno in mid-air, hitting him with a storm of bullets, and taking out the rest of his aura. Bruno lands on the ground, unconscious, as the buzzer goes off, eliminating him and ending the match.

"And with, Khazhak and Porphyrius are victorious. The two members of Team KEPL move on to the singles round as Team KEPL completely dominates their opponents once again," Oobleck announces.

"Yes, I believe I can say that whoever has to face them in the singles matches, they are in for a world of hurt," Port adds.

Khazhak and Porphyrius leave the arena and join their other teammates in the stands. As they link up, Team RWBY joins them.

"Nice work guys," Blake congratulates them.

"Yeah, you did awesome! Those guys didn't stand a chance!" Ruby cheers.

"Thanks for the support, little rose," Khazhak says while affectionately petting her head, making her smile even more.

Porphyrius looks behind them to see Yang motioning with her right index finger for him to come to her. Porphyrius walks up to her.

"Um, hey Yang. We won," he says.

"Yep, you sure did. Now I believe I owe you a little something," she says and leans in to plant a kiss on his cheek, making him blush madly. She giggles, "That was for taking out that pervert who tried to hit on me," she says.

"So, that was my reward?" Porphyrius asks, hand on his left cheek, still blushing.

"No, that was a bonus. Your reward is going out with me on a date after the tournament. I mean, if you want too," Yang says, suddenly becoming a little bashful with her hands behind her back.

Porphyrius shakes his head out of his stupor, "Ah, uh, YES! Yes, I'll go out with you!" he quickly replies.

Yang's smile gets bigger, "Awesome! Just remember to take me to somewhere I'll like," she says while rubbing her right hand under his chin as she walks by him, making him melt to the ground.

The members of Team RWBY and Lloyd laugh while Khazhak and Reaper help Porphyrius get back on his feet. They try to get him to wake up as Yang and Weiss walk away.

"Wow," Porphyrius says, looking as if he's dreaming.

"Yep, he's out," Khazhak flatly says, smacking his face for good measure.

Yang and Weiss leave, getting ready for their match.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Once more, Team KEPL proves their dominance in the tournament, and Porphyrius gets the girl as a bonus. Next time, we'll have Yang and Weiss in their battle. Will Yang and Weiss win in their fight? Will Khazhak be able to wake Porphyrius up from La-La Land? What awaits our teams in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	46. Chapter 41: Never Miss a Beat

**Here we are at Chapter 41. Time for Yang and Weiss to have their battle. Not much Team KEPL screen time in this one, just as a word of warning. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 41. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 41: Never Miss a Beat**

… _In the Amnity Coliseum…_

A few minutes later, the announcements come on, "Our next match will begin in fifteen minutes," Port announces.

"Oh my gosh, that's right! It's time for-," Ruby energetically begins.

"Welp, now it's our turn," Yang says as she stretches her arms and stands next to Weiss in the arena.

"Just remember to keep proper form," Weiss reminds her.

"Alright," Yang reluctantly agrees. "You're from Atlas. What could we expect?" Yang asks as she continues stretching her limbs.

"Well, seeing as their kingdom, academy, and armed forces are all merged as one, I think we can expect strict militant fighters with advanced technology and carefully rehearsed strategy," Weiss explains.

Suddenly, something races behind them, with a rainbow trailing behind the object, and spooks them as it moves around to be in front of them. They then get a good look at their opponents. The first one is named Flynt Coal, a young man with dark skin and brown eyes. He is wearing rectangular sunglasses and a dark fedora with a blue trim on his head, and an earring on his right ear. He is wearing a dark vest over an unbuttoned white and untucked dress shirt, with a loose tie wrapped around the collar, a pair of dark dress pants, silver dress shoes, and a dark glove on his left hand. He is holding a silver trumpet as his weapon. Next to him is Neon Katt, a young female feline Faunus with a light complexion, green eyes, and moderate-orange hair tied up in two ponytails with light blue streaks. On her rear waist is a long tail with pink fur, the pink becoming lighter towards the tip. She is wearing a light blue tank top on top of a dark purple bra, dark purple short shorts under a pink combat mini-skirt, and a white belt with a yellow winking smiley face on the buckle. She has two buttons fixed to her tank top above her right breast, one purple with a cat design and another green one with a heart. She also has on a white cat bell collar around her neck, a pair of bracers on her arms and pads on her shins and knees. She is wearing roller blades, and has a tattoo of a shooting star with a red, green, and yellow trail winds around her right arm. She is wielding a pair of nunchucks. She is the one that previously zoomed behind Weiss and Yang.

"Ooor, whatever they are," Weiss ends while Yang is still jawstrucked.

"Hey," Flynt says, getting Weiss' attention. "You're Weiss Schnee right? The heiress," he says.

"I am," Weiss replies.

"I take it you're pretty good with dust then," Flynt says.

"I do my best," Weiss says humbly.

"Yeah, my dad was good too. Owned a little dust shop of his own..." Flynt says nicely before losing his nice demeanor, "Til your father's company ran him out of business," Flynt says coldly.

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that," Weiss apologizes, feeling bad about that.

"Sure you are," Flynt sarcastically says, not buying it.

Yang then defends Weiss, "Hey, why don't you-,"

"Hey, why don't you," Neon interrupts her. "That's what you sound like," Neon taunts her, making Yang stop.

"Uhhhh," Yang stutters, rubbing her head.

"Hey, where'd you get your hair extensions?" Neon asks.

"This is just my normal hair," Yang replies.

"Ooooh really?" Neon replies.

Yang gets irritated, "Yeah, is that a pro-," she begins.

"You should try roller blading sometime," Neon begins as she rolls around on her roller blades. "It's super fun. It'd probably take you a while though since your so, you know, TOP heavy," Neon mocks her.

Yang looks down at her chest before replying, "EXCUSE ME?!" She yells.

"Oh, here we go," Ruby mutters as she shakes her head and rolls her eyes in the stands.

"Why that little-let me at her! Let me at her!" Porphyrius angrily shouts as Reaper and Lloyd hold him back from jumping into the arena to defend Yang.

The arena opens up around them and a moment later, they are surrounded by four different sections: a geyser field behind Yang and Weiss, a ruined city to their left, a lava field behind Flynt and Neon, and a desert field to Yang and Weiss' right.

"Let's see how the girls handle themselves in this match," Reaper says, having let go of Porphyrius after he calmed down.

"3…2…1…"Port begins as Flynt and Neon take their positions, which confuse Yang and Weiss. "…Begin!" Port announces and the battle begins.

Immediately, Flynt plays his trumpet, which sends out soundwaves from the horn at Yang and Weiss, forcing them back a little. Neon moves in front of Flynt, riding along with the soundwaves towards Yang and Weiss. Weiss conjures a glyph under her to keep her from falling back from Flynt's attack. Meanwhile, Neon knocks Yang back and races past her into the ruined city section while Weiss and Flynt face off as he stops his first attack. Flynt plays his trumpet again, sending out more soundwaves, but Weiss uses one glyph to move to one side to avoid it and then creates more black glyphs as she walks towards Flynt, using them to keep her steady. However, Flynt stops his attack, causing Weiss to run forward because of her glyphs, and as she runs past him, he kicks her in the back, sending her crashing into some red dust crystals and onto the ground in the lava field section, with Flynt walking towards her as he continues to smirk at her.

Meanwhile, Neon races around on her roller blades in the ruined city section as Yang chases her, firing off shots from her shotgun gauntlets, but none of the rounds make a hit. Neon jumps up to avoid two more shots and skids across a railway, looking back and sticking her tongue at Yang like a child as she continues to taunt her. Yang growls and fires off more shots as Neon evades them by skating across more pieces of destroyed buildings.

"Never miss a beat. Never miss a beat…Never miss a beat. Never miss a beat," Neon ells herself as she continues to evade Yang's attacks and skids down an edge of a building rooftop.

Neon races down one part of a building, dodging another shot from Yang, before she lands on the ground and zig-zags towards Yang, swinging her nunchucks around as she hits Yang. Neon then makes a flurry of attacks with her nunchucks at Yang, coming in from different angles as she uses her speed to her advantage, dealing ten strikes. After the tenth strike, Yang gets angrier as she cocks her shotgun gauntlets and looks at Neon. Neon bends her nunchucks, making them glow a light blue before she comes at Yang again. As Yang throws a right punch, Neon ducks under her and hits her right leg. Yang feels something different and looks down to see her right leg encased in ice.

Neon giggles, "Look! Now you're bottom heavy too!" she mocks her, smacking her butt.

Yang growls and slams her right foot onto the ground, breaking the ice, but then looks back as Neon comes at her again, hitting her left arm and encasing it in ice as well. Neon then races around some parts of the ruined city, skidding across a railway before weaving around some building parts, and then races back at Yang before kicking her into a wall, cracking it.

"You should cool off," Neon mocks her as Yang gets back up. "Get it? Because you're angry," she mocks her again.

"Come on, Yang. Wipe that smile off her face!" Porphyrius cheers for her.

Yang growls, showing a very annoyed expression on her face as she frees her left arm from the ice by smashing it into the wall behind her, breaking both the ice AND the wall. Back with Weiss and Flynt, Weiss swings her rapier around as she makes four small glyphs around her, spinning her body around four times before shooting off four ice shards from the glyphs at Flynt. Flynt looks down and smiles, spins his body before back-flipping and sliding on the ground. He then plays his trumpet again as a fire plume explodes in front of him, and uses his soundwaves to push the plume forwards, melting the ice shards. Flynt gets back to his feet.

"Too bad all that money can't buy you skill," he taunts her, twirling his trumpet in his right hand.

Up in the stands, Khazhak crosses his arms and narrows his eyes, _"Those two are letting their opponents get in their heads. A rookie mistake that may cost them dearly,"_ he thinks.

Weiss gets aggravated and spins the revolving chamber in her rapier, landing on a silver dial. Weiss aims her rapier at Flynt and sends out a twister of wind, which he blocks with his soundwaves. As this occurs, Weiss conjures up several glyphs in a circle formation around them. Weiss then shoots around to each glyph, shooting ice shards that hit Flynt from different angles. After a few hits, Flynt stomps his right foot on the ground and prepares to play again. As Weiss moves around, suddenly one Flynt becomes four Flynts, each with a different colored tie and hat. The four Flynts play all their trumpets together, and the combined soundwaves hit and knock Weiss back.

"Woah," Jaune says, surprised at the attack.

"What's this?" Port asks.

"It appears young Flynt has just activated his semblance, and quite a remarkable one at that," Oobleck begins. "Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on Flynt Coal's 'killer quartet," Oobleck says as the four Flynts spins the hats around in style.

The Flynts look to the big screen above them showing their aura levels, showing that he and Neon have a higher aura level than Weiss and Yang. Flynt calmly walks forward as the other three Flynts retreat back into him, stopping his semblance. Meanwhile, Neon races over another broken rooftop, flipping over it, with Yang trailing her, showing that her eyes have turned red from her anger.

"Oooh, flashy eyes. You know you're actually kind of pretty when you're angry," Neon continues to mock her as she looks back at Yang.

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Yang quickly yells, firing her shotguns behind her and propelling her forward at Neon as her eyes turn lilac purple again.

Back with Weiss, Weiss lays on the ground as she looks up to see Flynt step on her rapier, and reaches for it as he looks down on her.

"Get back here!" they here and look to Weiss' right to see Neon skating around Yang.

"I wasn't trying to say you SHOULD go on a diet. I was saying you really NEED to go on a diet," Neon mocks her again.

"THAT'S IT!" Yang angrily shouts.

"You're fat," Neon says.

Flynt looks at Weiss before turning to Yang and activates his killer quartet again, aimed at Yang. Weiss looks down to see a fire plume about to explode, and then makes a daring move. She tackles Flynt to the ground, deactivating his semblance as they are both caught in the fire plume explosion, and a buzzer sound is heard.

"What?" Yang looks back at them.

"WEISS!" Ruby and Blake yell, worried about Weiss.

"Damn," Khazhak swears as his team look on in shock.

"It appears we have a DOUBLE knock out on our hands!" Port announces.

"In fact, it looks as though Miss Schnee's completely depleted. She sacrificed herself to save to take out Flynt," Oobleck adds before they look back. "Wait a minute. What's this?" Oobleck says.

As the smoke clears, Flynt is seen staggering back to his feet, having not been eliminated yet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Flynt Coal remains standing," Port announces as the big screen shows Weiss' aura level down to zero while Flynt's is just barely above the red zone at sixteen.

Yang looks back as Flynt walks away from a charred up unconscious Weiss laying on the ground, with Neon skating to him.

"You did it, Flynt! Don't worry about her, she's easy, but kind of annoying," Neon says, whispering the last part.

Yang starts to get REALLY angry at this point, cracking her knuckles as the ground around her and in the lava field shakes from her heat and anger.

"Ooh, it looks like Yang's angry, and you wouldn't like her when she's…" Port begins as Yang screams in complete rage. "…Upset," he ends as Yang explodes from her semblance, with six fire plumes exploding behind her and her eyes turning red.

Yang then fires off two powerful shots from her shotgun gauntlets at Flynt and Neon, the shots barely missing them and destroying the ground around them.

"Yo Neon, go!" Flynt says and plays his trumpet again, with Neon racing by him.

Yang jumps into the soundwaves, and fires her gauntlets behind her to propel her forward. Yang then throws a series of punches at neon, who dodges them, and then Yang jumps up into the air, firing off more shots that break apart the arena floor. As Yang fires off more shots, Flynt moves his trumpet left, casing Neon to move with his soundwaves. However, Neon begins to lose control of her movements as Yang's shots destroy and later the ground around her. One shot causes a large piece of the arena floor to bend upwards. Neon accidently rides the piece and ends up skating into the geyser section of the arena. Meanwhile, Yang lands back on the ground and starts running forward, then shoots her weapons behind her again, shooting herself into the air towards Flynt. Flynt activates his semblance again, with his three clones behind him, and they play their trumpets, aimed at Yang. Yang fires her gauntlets to propel her towards Flynt, screaming, and when she gets close, she crushes the windpipe of the trumpet with her hands. The action makes the soundwaves burst out backwards at Flynt, ending his semblance and knocking him onto the ground of the desert section or the arena as the buzzer goes off, signifying Flynt's elimination.

"Oh, sour note for Flynt," Oobleck says.

Yang slides back and then looks to her right to see Neon skating across the geyser field, but is having some trouble on the rough terrain.

"Never miss a beat. Never miss a beat. Never miss a…" Neon says until her left roller blade hits a rock and knocks her off balance," Beat!" Neon cries as she falls.

Neon starts tumbling around on the ground until she rolls into a geyser that explodes, sending her straight up into the air, screaming. Yang smiles and fires off a shot from her right gauntlet. The shot hits Neon in the air, exploding like a firework, and a buzzer sound goes off as Neon gets eliminated and the match ends. Yang pumps her right fist in victory and calms down as her semblance ends. She catches her breath as the crowd clap and cheer for her. But then she remembers something important.

"Weiss!" Yang says, her eyes returning to normal, and runs over to her teammate. Yang runs to Weiss and gets down as Weiss begins to sit up, pain etched on her soot covered face, along with the rest of her body covered in soot except for her eyes. "Weiss, are you okay?!" Yang asks, concerned as she helps Weiss sit up.

Weiss coughs three times, smoke coming out of her mouth, and looks at Yang.

"I may not be singing for a while," she weakly replies.

Happy to see she's okay, Yang smiles at Weiss, "You know, I'm not sure that was proper form," she teases her.

"Oh ha-ha," Weiss begins before she starts coughing again.

"WHAT?!" they hear some shrieking and look over to Neon, without her color, and Flynt struggling to get back on his feet. "We lost?! We lost?! Team FNKI (Funky) LOST?!" That was…That was…AMAZING!" Neon says, getting her color back and rainbow stars in her eyes as she cheers. "Oh my gosh, you guys were super crazy awesome. We should definitely party together sometime. Right Flynt?" Neon says, then looks to Flynt.

Flynt stands up, "That was a gutsy move, Schnee…I dig it," he says, losing his anger towards her.

Yang and Weiss smile at them and then look to see Ruby and Blake running towards them.

"Good job you two!" Blake congratulates them as she and Ruby sit down next to Weiss.

"Yeah!" Ruby adds as she wraps her arms around Weiss.

Up in the stands, Khazhak looks down before closing his eyes, smiling, and then he and his team leave the stands.

"Team KEPL, stay and congratulate the girls on their victory, then return to our dorm room and wait for me there," Khazhak says.

"Okay…but what are you gonne do, brother?" Lloyd asks.

"Something's been bothering me lately, and I'll bet Ozpin knows something about it. So, I'm going to have a little chat with our esteemed headmaster," Khazhak says before taking his leave.

… _In Ozpin's office…_

Ozpin sits in his chair, looking out his window. A moment later, Qrow comes out from the elevator, holding a mug in his hands with probably an alcoholic drink in it. Qrow walks up to Ozpin's desk.

"You know he's making you look like a fool," Qrow says, talking about Ironwood.

"His heart is in the right place…He's just…misguided," Ozpin replies.

"Sometimes I'm not even sure he HAS a heart," Qrow says before drinking his mug for a moment. "So, have you chosen your guardian yet?" Qrow asks.

"Maidens choose themselves," Ozpin begins as he turns his chair around to face Qrow. "I simply believe I've found the right candidate. Ever since the day I met her, I had a feeling she would be the one. She's strong, intelligent, caring, but most importantly…She's ready," Ozpin says while Pyrrha Nikos enters an elevator to take her to his office.

However, Pyrrha never notices Khazhak watching her from the shadows.

Khazhak thinks to himself, _"What's Pyrrha doing here? Ozpin must have called her, but for what I don't know. Well then…Time to find out what's REALLY going on here…Once and for all."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Yang and Weiss move on to the one-on-one finals. And Khazhak goes to discover some truths from Ozpin, and they may involve Pyrrha. What secrets await Khazhak? What does Ozpin want with Pyrrha Nikos? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	47. Chapter 42: Choice & Cost

**Here we are at Chapter 42. Looks like Khazhak is about to learn some truths to what's really going on, and I doubt he's going to like them. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 42. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 42: Choice & Cost**

… _In Ozpin's Office…_

Pyrrha Nikos sits in a chair in front of Ozpin's desk, with Ozpin in his usual seat, the both of them having a conversation while Qrow Branwen leans against a column in the back of the room by the elevator with his arms crossed.

"Hm well, it comes as no surprise that they've chosen YOU to move on to the final round of the tournament. Your performance has been exemplary," Ozpin praise Pyrrha.

"Thank you Professor Ozpin, but I would never have made it this far without my teammates," Pyrrha modestly replies.

"Personally, I think it's the other way around," Qrow says, getting Pyrrha's attention.

Pyrrha stands up and turns to him, "I'm sorry, but, I don't believe we've been introduced," Pyrrha says.

"Name's Qrow," Qrow replies.

"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine," Ozpin says.

"Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?" Pyrrha asks as she turns back to him.

"Please, take a seat," Ozpin politely suggests, to which Pyrrha sits back in her seat. "What is your favorite fairy tale?" Ozpin asks as he leans back in his chair.

"I'm…sorry?" Pyrrha says, confused.

"Fairy tales. Stories from your childhood. Surely, you must remember some of them," Ozpin replies.

Pyrrha thinks for a moment, "…Well, there's the tale of the two brothers, the shallow sea, the girl in the tower-," Pyrrha begins.

"What about the story of the seasons?" Ozpin inquires as he leans forward.

"Oh, of course. A callous, old man, who refuses to leave his home is visited by four traveling sisters. The first understands his reclusive nature and urges him to use his time and solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings him fruits and flowers, tending to his crops and revitalizing his garden. The third warms the man's heart, convincing him to step outside and embrace the world around him. And the fourth and final sister, begs him to look at all he has and be thankful. In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens with incredible powers, so that they may continue to help others all over the world. They graciously accept, and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant until the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. The four maidens. My mother loves that story," Pyrrha recounts the story.

"Would you believe me if I told you THAT one's been around since I was a boy?" Ozpin asks.

"Heh, you're not THAT old, Professor," Pyrrha replies.

"Well, would you believe me if I told you it was TRUE?" Ozpin asks, suddenly becoming serious.

"I beg your pardon?" Pyrrha replies, now even more confused.

"What if I were to tell you that there WERE four maidens existing in this world, that could wield such tremendous power, without dust?" Ozpin adds.

"You mean like a semblance?" Pyrrha inquires.

"Like magic," Ozpin answers.

"I-," Pyrrha begins.

"Yeah, first time hearing it's pretty crazy," Qrow interrupts her as she looks back to him.

"You're serious?" Pyrrha asks as she turns back to Ozpin.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Ozpin calmly retorts.

"…No…Why…Why are you telling me this?" Pyrrha asks.

Ozpin glances at Qrow, who nods to him, before looking back at Pyrrha.

"We're telling you, Pyrrha Nikos, because we believe that YOU are next in line to receive the FALL maiden's powers," Ozpin replies, shocking Pyrrha.

"…We?" Pyrrha asks.

Just then, the elevator doors open up and she looks back to see Glynda Goodwitch and General Ironwood on the other side.

"Sorry we're late," Ironwood says, fixing his tie before they step into the room.

"Wait…What is this?" Pyrrha asks as she looks at Ozpin. "Who are you?"

"You know who we are. We're still the same teachers and headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon," Goodwitch tries to calm her down.

"Except we've got a little part time job," Qrow says as he joins them.

"We are the protectors of this world," Ironwood adds.

"And we need your help," Ozpin finishes for him.

Deciding to take this somewhere else, the group head into the elevator, but not before Ozpin glances back at his windows before he enters the elevator. Outside his office, on the roof, Khazhak stands, having heard everything from the conversation.

" _So the Maidens actually exist, and they want Pyrrha to become the next Fall Maiden. I need to know more,"_ he thinks.

Khazhak then breaks through the window and runs to the elevator. Using his semblance, he forces the doors open, and then jumps to grab the tow cables for the elevator and slides down until he catches up to them and slows down to land safely and quietly onto the roof of the elevator. Meanwhile, the five individuals go down in Ozpin's elevator, with Pyrrha becoming incredibly nervous as she holds her left arm in front of herself. She looks between Ozpin and Goodwitch. They continue downward, seemingly none of them knowing that a sixth individual is following them above their elevator.

"Where are we going?" Pyrrha asks, looking at Ozpin.

"The vault. Under the school," he answers.

Eventually they reach a floor far below the school, and exit the elevator. Ozpin walks in front of the group, with Ironwood at his left and Qrow at his right, with Glynda behind them as she turns to see Pyrrha trailing behind them. Pyrrha looks around before joining Glynda as they continue walking. The vault is a long, wide hallway, with torches on the walls to give off light in the area. A moment later, Khazhak breaks into the elevator and exits it, following slowly and quietly from a distance as he continues to listen in on their conversation.

"I'm sure you must have questions," Glynda says.

"Maybe one or two," Pyrrha nervously replies as they keep walking. "I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the maiden's power. What do you mean by that?" she asks.

"The maidens have existed for thousands of years, but much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike. When a maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host, ensuring that the seasons are never lost, and that no individual can hold onto the power forever," Goodwitch explains.

"So, how does the power choose?" Pyrrha asks.

"Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules," Qrow begrudgingly replies.

"Qrow," Glynda practically growls at him.

"Hey, don't get mad because I'm right," Qrow retorts as he looks forward.

"At first, the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed onto young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more…intimate," Glynda says.

"Intimate?" Pyrrha asks, getting more nervous and worried.

"As we understand it now, when a maiden dies, the one who is in their final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power," Glynda explains.

"Unless it's a dude, or some old hag. Then the power goes to someone random, and our jobs get a lot harder," Qrow adds.

"Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I've graduated?" Pyrrha asks as they continue walking forward, not knowing that Khazhak is following them from the shadows.

"Honestly, we've run out of time. I don't know if you've noticed, but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high, Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent, and it's not gonna be much longer before this peace we've all been enjoying so much goes out the window," Qrow replies.

"You're not…talking about war?" Pyrrha asks.

"Not a war between nations," Ironwood informs her.

Qrow looks back to her, "We can fill you in on the details once we know you're with us. For now, all you need to know is that one of the maidens was attacked, and for the first time in history, part of her power was stolen," Qrow says before looking forward again.

Eventually, they come to a chamber with some electronic equipment in front of them. The equipment consist of a few computer screens in the center, while on the right side is a life support chamber, empty, while the one on the left, has someone inside it. The two chambers have tubes connected to each other. Pyrrha looks at the occupied life support chamber.

"Is that-," Pyrrha begins.

Ozpin sighs, "The current Fall maiden…Amber," he says.

Inside the life chamber, Amber is wearing only white fabric covering her chest and around her thighs and hips. A noticeable scar is seen across most of the left side of her face, reaching out to her right side as well. Khazhak stays a distance away, but can also see the young woman in the pod, and narrows his eyes.

"She's…still alive," Pyrrha says, fear being heard in her voice.

"For now. We're using state of the art Atlas technology to keep her stable. But there is a lot about this situation that is…unprecedented," Ironwood informs her.

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asks.

Ironwood sighs, "Well, we don't know what will happen if…when she passes," he says.

"Won't her power just transfer to the next host?" Pyrrha inquires.

"Look who's been listening," Qrow exclaims. "She is smart," he whispers to Ozpin.

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is a delegate situation. It's not uncommon for the last thoughts of the slain to be of their attacker," Ironwood begins before looking at Amber. "And to make matters worse, no one's ever seen the power split like this before. For all we know, it will seek out its other half," he says.

"Her assailant," Pyrrha says.

"And that would NOT bode well for any of us," Ozpin notes.

Pyrrha hangs her head, eyes closed, before she opens them and walks up to Amber's chamber, placing her left hand on the glass of the chamber.

"If all of this is true, why keep it secret? If this girl is so important. If, if we're truly on the brink of war, why NOT tell everyone?!" Pyrrha exclaims.

Glynda steps forward, "From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge," she says.

"Excuse me?" Pyrrha asks.

"How do you think legends and fairy tales get started? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere," Qrow says, taking out his flask and taking a drink from it.

"Our group was founded in order to protect both mankind and the maidens. Those hungry for power hunted them with the hope of inheriting their strength," Glynda says.

Qrow finishes drinking his flask, "And as you can imagine, the ones that succeeded weren't exactly the kind of people you'd want to have UNIMAGINABLE power," Qrow adds.

"And so this brotherhood chose to remove maidens from the public eye, allowing their existence to fade away into legend," Ironwood says.

"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history. Religion-," Glynda begins.

"No one would want to believe us. It'd cause an uproar-," Ironwood interrupts her, before Ozpin does the same.

"It would cause PANIC. And we all know what THAT would bring clawing to our kingdoms' walls. Which is why we would like to-," Ozpin starts.

"I'll do it," Pyrrha interrupts him. "…If you believe this will help humanity…Then I will become your Fall maiden," Pyrrha says, losing some of her anxiety. However, the four adults look at each other, all with unsettling looks in their eyes before looking back at her. "That's what you wanted, isn't it?" she asks.

"It is, but I'm afraid it's not that simple," Ozpin says as he walks closer to her. "Given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. However, General Ironwood believes he has a solution," he says, gesturing to Ironwood.

"For the past few years, Atlas has been studying aura from a more scientific standpoint. How it works, what it's made of, how it can be used. We've made…significant strides, and we believe we found a way to capture it," Ironwood explains.

"Capture it, and cram it into something else," Qrow says, showing disdain for the idea. "Or in your case," Qrow gestures to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha jumps a little bit as she realizes what they're all getting at.

"That's-," she begins.

"Classified," Ironwood says.

"WRONG," she corrects him, not liking the idea one bit.

"The feeling is mutual," Glynda begins, giving Ironwood a death glare. "But, desperate times call for desperate measures," she says.

"And these are indeed desperate times. We can't transfer Amber's power to you, but we can give to you what those powers are BOUND to," Ironwood says.

"…Her aura," Pyrrha says.

"Her life, would become intertwined with yours. The question is…" Ozpin begins.

"What's that gonna do to you?" Qrow finishes.

Pyrrha looks down, unsure of what to do.

"…You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos. There's no guarantee this transfer will work. And there's no telling if you will be the same person if it does. I'd advise you to take time to think on this matter. But understand, that before the Vytal Festival is over…We will need your answer," Ozpin says as his group looks at her.

Pyrrha thinks for a moment before a new voice is heard.

"So THIS is why everything has happened the way it did," they all hear and look back to see Khazhak Rairyu walking up to them, an angry look on his face. "To think my comrades were actually just pawns in your twisted game, Ozpin. That is something I do NOT condone," he angrily says.

"Khazhak, what are you doing here?" Glynda asks, shocked that he followed them to the vault.

"He has been following us since we entered the elevator," Ozpin notes, eyes closed, knowing that Khazhak has been following them from the start.

"What?! He's not supposed to know about this place! He's not supposed to be here!" Ironwood exclaims.

"He would've found out eventually. Khazhak is too smart to not put the pieces together here," Ozpin says as he looks Khazhak in the eye. "Khazhak, you say that this is a game of mine, but if you heard every word up until now, then you should know that this isn't an easy decision for me. Asking one of my students to put themselves in this kind of situation is not something I would do on a whim," Ozpin explains.

"And yet, here we are, with one of my comrades, one of my FRIENDS, being asked to possibly sacrifice everything she is and everything she has, just to accomplish your ambition. Forgive me if I don't exactly agree with the idea," Khazhak says as he walks by them and stands in front of Amber. "My mother told me the story of the Maidens plenty of times when I was a child. To think that the tale was actually true all along. Heh, isn't that quite a surprise," he says.

"Khazhak, you know you can't tell anyone about what you've seen and heard here. We can't risk Amber's assailant learning of her presence here," Ozpin says.

Khazhak thinks and then sighs, "I will not tell the others. HOWEVER, if my teammates ask me, I will not lie to them," Khazhak tells them as he turns to them.

"Khazhak, don't you understand? This is important-," Ironwood begins.

"I understand Ironwood. But I also understand that my teammates TRUST me, and I will not betray that trust. Unlike YOU, I trust my comrades," Khazhak says, eyes narrowing at Ironwood.

"Khazhak-," Glynda begins.

"Don't even start, Goodwitch. Or have you forgotten how my teammate, Lloyd, was turned into a tool for other people's goals. You're putting Pyrrha in the exact same position. I don't like being used as a pawn, and I like it even LESS when it's my comrades being used," Khazhak angrily interrupts her, making her step back. "However, I will allow you to continue with your little plan…for now. But Pyrrha Nikos…" he begins, looking at Pyrrha. "My father always said that every choice has a cost. I will respect your decision, whatever it may be. But before you decide, know this. You can go along with their plan, and pay a price, or you can decline to go along with it, and still pay a price. The most important decisions in life are never easy. Remember that," he advises her before he begins to walk away.

"Khazhak, I am only trying to protect the people of Remnant, as is the duty of every huntsmen," Ozpin says.

Khazhak stops and looks back at him, "Right, by sacrificing the few to save the many. And to think, I actually thought I could trust you Ozpin…That turned out to be one of my greatest mistakes. A mistake I will NOT make again. One more thing, what I said about choices having a cost, that goes for you too, Ozpin. If Pyrrha ends up losing herself if she goes along with your plan, then YOU will have to pay the cost for choosing to bring her into this conflict, and I'll be the one to collect on that debt. And if your plan puts anymore of my comrades in unnecessary danger…then I will not hesitate to destroy you, MYSELF," Khazhak warns him before leaving the group.

"Khazhak, you can't just-," Glynda begins.

"Let him go, Glynda…He is right. Whatever happens from this, it will be me that must pay the cost for my choice. But we must keep moving forward. The assailant that attacked the Fall maiden has made their first move…And there's no telling when their next move will be," Ozpin says while Pyrrha looks through the glass at Amber. _"Besides, for all things considered…I am the one responsible for destroying Khazhak's former life…Wouldn't you agree…Azraq…"_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Khazhak learns some of the truth, and is not happy about it. I wouldn't be happy too if I were in his position, that's why I wrote it like that. Anyway, things are getting intense in Vale. Will Khazhak and his comrades be ready for it? Will Pyrrha make the right choice? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	48. Chapter 43: Something is Amiss

**Here we are at Chapter 43. It's time for the next round of the Vytal Tournament, featuring a special match for you all. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 43. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 43: Something is Amiss**

… _In the evening, at the Amnity Coliseum…_

The night has begun to arise as the crowd in the arena go nuts with the next stage of the Vytal Festival Tournament about to begin. Teams RWBY, KEPL, and JNPR sit in the stands, eagerly awaiting the first match to be announced.

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for. The one-on-one finals!" Port announces as the crowd cheers in anticipation. In the center of the arena, the team representatives of the remaining teams are lined up, with Yang at the far left followed by another student, then Sun Wukong, then two other students, Penny, Mercury, Khazhak, and finally Pyrrha. "Barty, why don't you explain the rules," Port motions to Dr. Oobleck.

"Ah, it's quite simple, Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place," Oobleck quickly explains.

"Much like any good hunt, there will be ZERO time to prepare," Port adds.

"Ah, yes, yes, now let's see who our first match will be!" Oobleck exclaims, pointing to the big screen.

Everyone in the stands and around the world watch as the roulette spins until it finally lands on the first two fighters, Khazhak Rairyu and Sun Wukong.

"Khazhak Rairyu from Beacon and Sun Wukong from Haven," Port announces.

The crowd goes nuts with the announcement of the first match. Meanwhile, Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald sit in the stands, smiling as the show begins.

"Good luck, Khazhak!" Ruby cheers.

"Wipe the arena with his face, brother!" Lloyd cheers as well.

"This is sure to be one heck of a battle. We have Sun Wukong, leader of Team SSSN, who has shown to be a skilled fighter, going up against the leader of Team KEPL, Khazhak Rairyu, who has absolutely dominated his opponents with ease in each match he's been in. This is going to be a true battle between skilled warriors," Oobleck says.

"Would all other contestants please leave the arena," Port announces.

The other fighters leave the arena except for Khazhak and Sun, who turn to face each other. The center of the arena rises up into the air, with spotlights encircling the whole thing so everyone can see.

"Looks like the time has come for us to brawl, Khazhak. Don't feel too bad when I beat you. You're good, I know that much, but you haven't faced someone like me," Sun says as he takes out his staff.

Khazhak grunts in amusement, "Hmpf. Truth be told, I was hoping to fight you. Aside from Pyrrha Nikos, you may be the only other fighter here worth my time. The others aren't close enough to my level, including Yang. I wonder, can you satisfy me? Can you satisfy my soul's hunger for strong opponents? Let's put that to the test, shall we…Sun Wukong…Prepare to be judged," Khazhak says as he draws his swords.

"3…2…1…FIGHT!" Port yells, and the match begins.

Sun immediately runs at Khazhak, who waits patiently for Sun to come to him. When he gets close, Sun twirls his staff around as he takes a swing at Khazhak. However, Khazhak easily blocks the strike with his right sword, and then swings his left sword upwards at Sun. Sun jumps back to avoid the strike, and then goes in for another attack. This time, Khazhak responds in kind and swings his right sword at him, but Sun slides under the strike while swinging his staff at Khazhak's legs. Khazhak jumps over the attack to avoid it, and then turns around and fires off his guns at Sun. Sun spins his staff around to block the rounds. Khazhak goes for a few swings at Sun, who counters each strike with his staff. At one point, Khazhak spins around to throw a back kick at Sun, who blocks with strike with his staff, but slides back across the arena. Sun then switches his staff into its nun-chuck forms and spins them around before getting back into it. Khazhak fuses his swords into their dual spear form and makes another run at Sun. The two warriors spin and twirl their weapons around in a dance of steel and fire as Sun fires off his nun-chucks' guns in the melee. However, Khazhak manages to block or deflect each shot with his dual spear. When Sun's left nun-chuck comes down at him, Khazhak actually manages to grab it, surprising Sun. Khazhak kicks Sun away, making him lose his left nun-chuck. Sun grits his teeth when he sees Khazhak holding one of his weapons. Khazhak grunts again before he tosses the weapon back to its owner, stunning Sun even more.

"This fight won't be worth it if you're not fighting with everything you've got. I don't fight that way. Now then, let's continue," Khazhak says as he charges up his semblance. Sun switches back to his staff form to prepare for this attack. A moment later, "LIGHTNING DEVASTATION!" Khazhak says as he spins his dual spear around and swings it, sending out a buzzsaw of lightning at Sun.

Sun runs straight at it, and then jumps and spins right over it at the last second to evade it. He lands as the buzzsaw explodes behind him, smiling his signature smirk all the same. Khazhak switches his weapon back to its dual sword form and runs back at Sun, while Sun changes back to his nun-chucks to do the same. Khazhak swings his right sword at him, which Sun blocks, followed by using the same sword to block a counter attack. He then swings his left sword at him, but Sun jumps over it. Khazhak uses the momentum of the swing to move his body around for another swing of his right sword, followed by a thrust of his left. Sun manages to block both attacks, but when he tries for a counter attack, Khazhak suddenly raises his left foot up and stomps down on his right nun-chuck, trapping it. With this throwing off his balance, Khazhak swings his right sword and nails Sun, leading it up with an upward swing of his left sword that knocks Sun back. Sun rolls on the ground before he gets back on his feet. The second he looks up however, Khazhak has already jumped into the air, with his swords now in their greatsword form. Sun switches back to his staff mode and holds his staff up to block the downward strike from Khazhak.

Khazhak proves to him more physical strength and forces Sun onto one knee as he pushes against him.

"Oh, it looks like Sun is in trouble now," Port announces.

"If you wish to submit right now, I'll accept it," Khazhak taunts him.

"Nope, but you can go ahead if you want," Sun replies.

He then uses his tail to wrap around Khazhak's left leg and pulls back, throwing him off balance. This gives Sun a chance to jump back before Khazhak can retaliate. Sun then smashes his hands together, engaging his semblance and sending out two clones to attack Khazhak. Khazhak switches back to his dual sword form and easily dispatches both clones with a quick swing of his swords. This gives Sun a chance to attack from behind, but Khazhak sees this coming and ducks for a low sweep kick at Sun's legs. He trips him up and spins around again for a spinning hook kick that knocks Sun back a few feet. Sun decides to try again and creates two more clones…However, when that happens, Khazhak sees not two clones, but four.

 _"I thought he could only make two. Maybe he was holding back,"_ Khazhak thinks.

The four clones run at Khazhak, and when the closest one attacks his left side, he swings his left sword to cut through it, only…something felt off. It disappeared, but not like the others. This confuses Khazhak, but he goes to take out two more, followed by the last one, only for it to disappear before he hits it. His confusion leaves him open, and Sun manages to smack him on the back of his head with his staff before jumping back. Khazhak grits his teeth and turns to face Sun again.

"Yo, Khazhak, you feeling okay? You looked like you were fighting something that wasn't there. Hope all this fun isn't getting to you," Sun taunts him.

Khazhak narrows his eyes and readies his blades. Sun activates his semblance again, and creates two more clones. However, Khazhak sees not two, but MANY clones in front of him. Even knew that Sun couldn't create this many clones. It would be too much for his aura to handle, and yet…Something was wrong. Khazhak charges up his semblance again.

"LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" Khazhak yells as he swings his right sword, sending out several lightning bolts.

The attack takes out several clones, but still many more attack Khazhak. He swings his swords, but for most of them, they disappear before they get close, and he ends up taking a few more hits from Sun and the other clones. Khazhak shakes his head and sees Sun and his clones, once again more than there should be, ready to attack again.

"What is this? Khazhak seems to be all over the place with his attacks. I wonder if he's alright. At this rate, he may actually lose!" Oobleck announces.

 _"Something isn't right. Sun can't do something like this. These clones feel different than his usual ones. It's almost like I'm fighting ghosts…What must I do?"_ he wonders before he remembers something his father said. _"A warrior must not always rely on his eyes alone. They are not your only sense, Khazhak. Use your other senses, especially when your eyes deceive you. Learn to fight what you cannot see,"_ he remembers one of his father's lessons.

Remembering those words, Khazhak takes a deep breath, and then closes his eyes. He listens, smells, and feels the environment around him, and can sense the presence of Sun, and his two clones, while all others disappear. Sun looks perplexed at this, but sends his clones to attack him anyway. The clones get close, but most just vanish when they get close to Khazhak. Focusing on his senses of hearing and smell rather than his eyes, and his instincts, Khazhak makes no motion when these clones attack. But when the two clones that Sun made attack him, Khazhak swings his right sword to cut through both of them at once. Sun then goes in for the kill while Khazhak still has is eyes closed, his nun-chucks at the ready. He jumps up and swing his nun-chucks at Khazhak, but Khazhak reverses the grip on his blades, holding them backwards. He then ducks underneath the attack and swings around Sun, making him move past Khazhak. Sun swings his right nun-chuck around, only for Khazhak to raise his left sword up and strike it down, pinning the nun-chuck to the ground by its chain. Sun makes another attack with his second nun-chuck, only for Khazhak to do the same thing with his right sword. With his weapons trapped, Khazhak kicks Sun away, making him lose his weapons, and falling off the side of the arena. Sun manages to grab the ledge with his left hand and looks down for a moment. Just as he turns to climb back up, he finds the tip of Khazhak's right sword an inch from his face. Khazhak opens his eyes and stares down his opponent.

"Yield," is all Khazhak says.

Seeing as he has no weapons, no exit strategy, and his aura is getting low, he lowers his head in resignation.

"Alright…I give up," he admits defeat.

The crowd goes wild with his declaration and cheers are heard all around the area.

"What an amazing performance. Khazhak Rairyu wins the first match of the one-on-one finals, not only by making his opponent yield in defeat, but also literally with his eyes closed! This is incredible!" Oobleck announces.

"Khazhak Rairyu has shown a tremendous performance of skill, experience, and honor. He does Beacon Academy proud," Port adds.

Khazhak holsters his swords and offers a helping hand to Sun, who takes it, and pulls him up.

"Sun Wukong, final verdict…Innocent," Khazhak says and leaves.

"Um, thanks…I think," Sun rubs his head in mild confusion.

Khazhak leaves the arena and links back up with his team.

"And brother does it again. Nice job out there, you show off," Lloyd says.

"What happened out there, Khazhak? For a moment, it looked like you were fighting something that wasn't there," Porphyrius notes.

"Yes, you seemed out of it," Reaper adds.

Khazhak crosses his arms, "There was…something…going on that that fight. Whenever Sun used his semblance, how many clones did you guys see?" he asks.

"Um, we only ever saw him call out two. Why?" Lloyd asks.

"Whenever he did that, I saw several clones, not just two. And each time I would strike them down, they would disappear, but not they normally would. It was only when I stopped using my eyes that I could see just Sun and the other two clones, and win the battle," Khazhak explains.

"Do you…think you were just seeing things?" Reaper asks.

"No, it was something else. That's what my instincts are telling me, and they are never wrong…We'll worry about it later. For now, let's focus on the next fight. I believe we'll need to be around for the next one at least," Khazhak says and then leaves, followed by his teammates.

…

Meanwhile, Cinder talks with her teammates.

"What the Hell happened. He was supposed to go berserk and wreck the place!" Mercury quietly yells.

"I did my job, he just didn't fall for it unfortunately," Emerald retorts.

"Enough. I figured Khazhak might be a little too smart to fall for it. It doesn't matter. We still have a few more cards to play," Cinder says, still keeping her smile. "Mercury, you're up," she says.

Mercury just smirks before he takes his leave. Everyone in the stands and around the world watch as the roulette spins until it finally lands on the first two fighters, Mercury Black and Yang Xiao Long.

"Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black!" Port announces as the crowd cheers again.

"Break a leg, sis!" Ruby cheers for her sister as the rest of Team RWBY, JNPR, and KEPL cheer her on.

"Knock 'em out, Yang!" Porphyrius cheers for her.

However, Cinder then stands and leaves the stands before the match begins, still smiling. Yang and Mercury enter the arena and stand in the center, awaiting the match to begin. Next, the sides of the arena open up, with high railings holding lights like at a rock concert rising above them, along with the center of the arena hovering a little higher than the rest of the arena.

"You better not go easy on me," Yang taunts Mercury.

"Heh, you wish," Mercury retorts, confident as they look on before they both take a fighting stance.

"3…" Port begins as Yang and Mercury slowly step closer to each other. "2…1…" he continues as their hands practically touch each other. "FIGHT!" he declares and the match begins.

Yang screams as she reels back and throws a right fist, while Mercury spins around and throws a right kick in response. The two attacks collide, pushing both fighters back. Mercury runs at Yang and throws a jump kick at her, but she jumps over him. Landing behind him, Yang fires off a shot before spinning her body and making a right swing which Mercury blocks with his right arm. Yang then makes two more punches, but Mercury deflects them with his right arm, then ducks as Mercury throws a left hook at her. Yang throws a left punch as Mercury throws a right front kick, the attacks sending both of them backwards. They both backflip back onto their feet, and then Yang fires off some shots with her shotgun gauntlets. Mercury dodges left, then moves right, sliding across the floor before he jumps towards her, doing a front-flip in the air in order to perform a downward kick at her. Yang crosses her arms in front of her head to block the strike, and then pushes him away, Making Mercury spin in the air as Yang goes for a sweep kick at his feet. As he lands, Mercury ducks to avoid a shot from Yang and then backflip kicks her in the face, sending her into the air. However, Yang quickly lands on her feet and fires her weapons behind her, shooting her back at Mercury. Yang hits him with four punches, but then Mercury spins his body, as does Yang, and they both throw a spin kick at each other, but then Mercury kicks the inside of her right knee, making her fall down to her knees. Mercury flips in the air and slams his left foot down at Yang, but she rolls out of the strike and it hits the floor. Yang slams her right fist down at Mercury, but he flips and spins out of the way before throwing two kicks that Yang blocks. They both get to their feet and Mercury throws a high spin kick at Yang's face, which she evades by leaning backwards. Mercury twist the spin kick in the air and slams it down on her, but she flips out of the way, and he makes a small crater in the ground.

Mercury throws another kick that Yang blocks with her left arm, then Yang makes a right spin kick which Mercury ducks under, and counters with his own spin kick that Yang leans back from to evade. Mercury keeps spinning, throwing another spin kick at Yang's stomach, then jumps in the air, still spinning, performing another kick that pushes Yang back. Landing on the ground, Mercury break dances to get back on his feet and then runs at her with another front kick. However, Yang blocks the attack, countering with an uppercut to his face, spinning her body for a left elbow to his chest, immediately followed by a right punch that sends him back onto the ground. As he gets up, Mercury sees Yang firing off more shots from her shotgun gauntlets, and he backflips to avoid three, but the explosion from the fourth hits him, and makes him fall off the platform. Thinking quickly, Mercury fires his boot weapons, using the recoil to propel him into the air and back into the fight as he spins towards Yang. After he lands, Mercury quickly throws four front kicks, which Yang blocks, then makes a two more kicks at her torso, a third at her right leg that misses, a fifth kick to her head that she blocks, a sixth kick to her chest followed by a hook kick that she ducks under, then two more kicks with the second deflecting a shot from her right gauntlet, followed by another kick that blocks a shot from her left gauntlet, then a low kick to her feet, then a spinning hook kick that Yang ducks under, and then ends it with a jump back kick that pushes Yang back. Mercury quickly spins his left leg around, firing off a shot that twists in the air as Yang rolls out of the way to avoid it.

Mercury smirks before balancing himself on his left leg as he spins on it, firing off a shower of rounds from his right boot as he continuously kicks it. The shots begin to spin around him in the air. Yang evades two shots as she closes in on Mercury while he continues to fire more rounds. When Yang gets close, she throws a right punch that Mercury dodges, and then makes a left punch that he blocks. Mercury throws a high kick at her, swinging it downward for another kick, then makes another high kick that knocks Yang into the air. Mercury jumps up to her, and makes a spin kick that knocks her back to the ground. Just then, the swarm of bullets flying around the arena all converge and slam into Yang, engulfing her in smoke. Mercury lands on the ground, and then starts brushing himself off in apparent victory. However, a massive explosion rings out behind him, and he looks back to see Yang still standing. Her semblance activated, Yang smashes her fists together, expression angry and eyes turned red, Yang rushes at Mercury and throws a hard punch that he blocks, but gets pushed back.

Yang rushes at him again, and ducks under two spinning hook kicks from him before blocking a third kick, shocking him. Yang lets loose as she throws seven powerful punches that hit Mercury, making hi stumble back. As he looks back, Yang throws a hard uppercut into his chest, and his aura deactivates in slow motion. Then Yang ends it with a right hook to his face in normal motion, and Mercury falls to the ground as the buzzer sounds off and the match ends.

"What an impressive display!" Port announces as the crowd cheers.

Yang calms down, her semblance deactivating, and throws her right fist into the air, smiling at her victory.

"Yang Xiao Long wins!" Oobleck announces as the center of the arena lowers to the ground, with the big screen showing Yang's aura level at 16 while Mercury's aura is at 0.

"Yeah, you did it sis!" Ruby cheers.

"Way to go, Yang!" Blake claps for her partner.

"Yeah, nice work Yang!" Porphyrius cheers.

" _Good job Yang,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself as he smiles at her victory.

Yang wipes some sweat off her forehead, "Better luck next time," she says to Mercury and turns to walk away.

However, Mercury gets back up, "There's not going to be a next time, blondie," Yang hears him threaten her from behind.

Yang looks back to see Mercury throw a jump kick at her, but she retaliates by punching his thrown leg, hitting it and breaking his knee. The crowd screams in shock at what just happened in front of them and begin booing. Mercury sits on the ground, holding his busted right leg, his face full of pain.

"My word!" Oobleck says, shocked.

"Cut the cameras!" Port says behind him.

The crowd continues to boo and show their shock and ire at what has just transpired. Meanwhile, back in Mountain Glenn, the Grimm in the abandoned city all suddenly turn their heads to the arena floating in the sky beyond them…They sense the large concentration of negativity coming from it.

"Ah, my leg! My leg!" Mercury cries in pain.

"That's what you get, you little-huh?!" Yang begins, but stops as AK-200s surround and aim their weapons…at HER.

"Yang Xiao Long, stand down!" One Altas soldier orders her.

Yang looks around confused, "What!? Why!?" she asks.

"Mercury!" Emerald yells as she kneels next to Mercury.

"Why'd she do that? Why'd she attack me?!" he cries, though his cries sound rehearsed while Emerald glares at Yang.

Yang then looks back to the big screen to show the replay. However, the screen shows Yang walking past Mercury, looking back at him…and then hitting his leg, unprovoked. Yang then looks to her team…only to see them look back in sheer horror. Yang just looks around, shock and fear written on her face as she has no idea what is going on. Back in the stands, the members of Team KEPL look on in shock, with one thought going through the mind of Khazhak Rairyu as he looks on in shock.

" _What the Hell just happened here?"_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Things are going to get pretty dark soon. Word of warning, I said at the beginning of this story that this would be a strong canon story with Team KEPL involved. You will not like what some of the future chapters will hold. What happened to Khazhak and Yang? What does this mean for the Vytal Festival? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	49. Chapter 44: Putting the Pieces Together

**Here we are at Chapter 44. Time to see how Khazhak and his team will handle the repercussions of Yang's fight. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 44. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 44: Putting the Pieces Together**

Things weren't looking good right now. After Yang's accident in her match against Mercury, things have gotten bad. Grimm activity has spiked, people are reacting negatively to Beacon, and Mercury and his team are missing after apparently heading back to Haven. Currently, Khazhak is marching right to Team RWBY's room after hearing that General Ironwood would be speaking with her and her team. His teammates are right with him.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Khazhak?" Reaper asks as he follows his leader.

"I don't give a damn. I know Ironwood is going to react negatively to Yang's match, just like everyone else. Something happened in that fight, and I'm betting that it's the same thing that happened in my fight. So I'm going to get to the bottom of this," Khazhak says, leaving no room for discussion. They come to RWBY's room, only to find to Atlas robots standing guard outside the door. Khazhak narrows his eyes, "Lloyd…" he says.

"Got it," Lloyd replies, cracking his knuckles.

Meanwhile, in Team RWBY's dorm.

"I'm sorry, but you've left us with no choice," Ironwood says.

"But he attacked me!" Yang retorts as she and Ruby sit on Weiss' bed while Weiss and Blake sit on Blake's bed.

"Video footage and millions of viewers say otherwise," Ironwood replies as he walks in front of her to stand in the center of the room.

"But Yang would never do that," Weiss defends Yang.

"Yeah!" Ruby adds, standing up while Yang rests her face in her hands and breathes heavily.

Ironwood turns to them, "You all seem like good students, and the staff here at Beacon are fully aware that you would never lash out the way you did, under normal circumstances. What I believe, and hope this to be, is nothing more than the result of stress and adrenaline," Ironwood says as Ruby sits back down. "When you're out on the battlefield, your judgment can become clouded in an instant. Sometimes you see things that simply aren't there. Even after the fight has passed," Ironwood says.

"But I wasn't-," Yang begins.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ironwood yells back, making her reel back. "The sad truth is, whether it was an accident, or an assault, it doesn't matter. The world saw you attack an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions. And it's my job to inform you that…you're disqualified," Ironwood says, making Yang look down in sadness.

"BULLCRAP!" they hear outside the door. Suddenly the door is kicked open, revealing Khazhak on the other side along with his teammates behind him, and the two AK-200s destroyed. "Here you go again, Ironwood! Throwing someone else to the wolves in order to save your own sorry can!" Khazhak vents his rage at hearing Team RWBY getting disqualified.

"Khazhak! This doesn't concern you. Besides, you saw what happened just like everyone else. There's no other explanation and no other alternative," Ironwood explains.

"Again, that's a load of crap! I may have not seen what Yang saw back at the coliseum, but I know the kind of person she is. Yang already defeated Mercury before that incident. She's not the type to kick an opponent when they're already down," Khazhak defends Yang.

"None of that matters now. What's done is done, and nothing can change that," Ironwood retorts.

Khazhak narrows his eyes at him, "You haven't changed one DAMN bit, Ironwood. In the end, you still stab your allies in the back just to get ahead in life…LEAVE…before I MAKE you," Khazhak warns him while grasping his right blade handle.

Ironwood sighs and leaves while the rest of Team KEPL enter the room as he closes the door. The members of Team RWBY look down in sadness.

"You guys believe me, right?" Yang asks her teammates.

"Duh," Ruby supports her sister.

"You're hotheaded, but not ruthless," Weiss adds.

"Yeah, if anything, out of all eight of us, I'D be the one who would do something like this the most, and of course I would never do it," Lloyd adds.

"You are a warrior that always fights fair and square, Yang. I know you wouldn't attack a defenseless opponent unless you were provoked," Reaper says.

"You're a kind person, Yang. I know for a fact that you wouldn't do something like this," Porphyrius defends her.

"Yang, another of my father's teachings is that everything about a warrior is revealed in the way they fight. You've always fought straight up with your own power, and you've fought with honor. You're an honest fighter, which is a good thing. So, if you say that you saw him attack you, then I believe you one-hundred percent," Khazhak says.

But then, they all look to Blake.

"Blake?" Yang asks.

However, Blake looks down, seeming like she doesn't entirely agree with them, which shocks everyone in the room as they look back to her.

"I want to believe you," Blake replies.

"Huh?" Ruby asks, shocked.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?!" Weiss yells.

"What are you, an idiot?!" Porphyrius voices his displeasure while Khazhak shakes his head.

Yang starts to get tears in her eyes, "Blake?" Yang asks, hurt in her voice.

"Have you not been listening to anything we have said since we came here?!" Lloyd yells.

But Blake glances at Yang before looking down again.

"How can you say something like that?! Yang would never lie to us!" Weiss voices her outrage at Blake.

"You still have much to learn it seems, Blake," Reaper adds.

Blake looks at Weiss and then sighs, "I had someone very dear to me change. It wasn't in an instant, it was gradual. Little choices that began to pile up. He told me not to worry. At first they were accidents, then it was self-defense…Before long, even I began to think he was right…This is all just…very familiar," Blake explains as Yang looks back to her, shedding a few tears. "But you're not him, and you've never down anything like this before…So, I want to trust you. I WILL trust you, but first, I need to you to look me in the eyes and tell me that HE attacked YOU. I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did," Blake says, slightly narrowing her eyes at Yang.

Yang wipes the tears out of her eyes, "I saw him attack me, so I attacked back," Yang replies, looking Blake in eye.

Blake closes her eyes for a moment, and starts to slowly smile before looking back at Yang.

"Okay. Thank you," Blake says, before she notices Khazhak turning to her.

"It is dark times like these that we must remain united with our comrades, Blake. We cannot allow doubt to begin to seep in, otherwise, comrades will end up killing each other. Never forget who your comrades are, Blake. For YOU, as well as the rest of us, are nothing without them," Khazhak advises her before looking back to Yang.

"I think I'm going to rest up," Yang says.

The rest of her team stand up, "We'll get out of your hair," Blake says and the seven of them leave the room, with Ruby closing the door behind them.

Weiss sighs, "This is a mess," she says as another door opens up.

"She doing okay?" Jaune asks from his room, with the rest of his team in the room, all of them concerned.

"She's doing the best she can," Blake replies, shaking her head.

"I heard Mercury and the rest of his team rushed back to Haven to be with his family. So, until they land, no one can really question him what really happened," Ruby says.

"If there's anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask," Ren offers.

Ruby looks down, "Alright then, if that's the case…Pyrrha," Ruby calls to Pyrrha, who sits back on her bed.

"Hm?" she hums as she looks back.

"You and Khazhak be sure to win one for Beacon okay," Ruby encourages her.

"It's what Yang would want," Weiss adds, nodding her head.

'I already won my match, so I'm ahead of everyone else, including you. And I don't plan on losing to anyone before I get the chance to fight you again. You still owe me a match after all, so you'd better not lose before you face me," Khazhak notes.

Pyrrha looks down before looking back to them, "I'll do my best," she says, forcing a smile onto her face.

"I'll be sure to watch tonight in case you're picked!" Ruby cheers her on, but Pyrrha looks down, losing her smile.

"Sorry, but I think I've had enough fighting for one year," Blake says.

"Ditto…Coffee?" Weiss suggests.

"Tea," Blake replies.

"Hold on everyone," Khazhak says, stopping them. "I don't know what's going on here, but until I do, I'm not letting any of you go out alone. NO arguments. Reaper, Lloyd, go with Weiss and Blake. I'm going with Ruby back to the coliseum," Khazhak begins and then looks to Porphyrius, who has been looking at Team RWBY's door the whole time. "Porphyrius…" he calls out to him, and Porphyrius looks to him with a worried expression. "You stay here with Yang. I know she need some rest, but it can't hurt to have a friend nearby. Team KEPL, move out," Khazhak orders them, and everyone leaves to go their own ways while Jaune watches them leave before closing his door.

Meanwhile, Yang looks up when she sees Porphyrius enter her room.

"I said I was going to rest up. Don't worry about me," she says.

"Too late. Try all you want, but you're not shaking me off anytime soon," Porphyrius says before he sits next to her on the bed. "Khazhak ordered me to stay by your side anyway, as well as the rest of our team sticking with the rest of your team. Besides, how can I ignore a pretty girl who's sulking when she looks way cuter when she's smiling?" Porphyrius says as he wraps his arm around her, pulling her head onto his shoulder, making Yang smile a little bit.

They remain like that for a while, soon enough changing to sitting on Blake's bed, eventually seeing Team JNPR outside in the courtyard, getting some fresh air, until…

"Hey there, firecracker," suddenly Qrow says as he mysteriously appears, leaning next to the door.

Porphyrius jumps, but quickly calms down when he sees who it is.

"Hey, Qrow," Yang replies.

"So, why'd you do it?" he asks.

"You KNOW why," Yang replies, looking at him.

"All I know is that you attacked a helpless kid. So either you're lying, or you're crazy," Qrow says.

"Hey, Yang is not lying. And she's not crazy either!" Porphyrius defends her.

"I'm NOT lying," Yang retorts.

"Crazy. Got it," Qrow says as he stands up from the wall and begins to walk to them, with his pockets in his hands.

"Who knows? Maybe I am," Yang bitterly says.

"You're NOT crazy, Yang. Don't even begin to say that," Porphyrius continues to defend her.

"And here I thought your dark-haired friend was the emo one," Qrow says before walking back.

"I saw my mom," Yang says out of the blue, making him stop and look back to her along with Porphyrius. "I-I was in a lot of trouble. Took a pretty hard hit. But, when I came to, the person attacking me was gone, and Khazhak was there. And I thought I saw…her. Her sword, like the one in you and Dad's old picture," Yang says, making Porphyrius look down.

"Tch, you're not crazy Yang…That was your mom alright," Qrow confesses as he turns to her. "Let me guess, she didn't say a word, did she?" he asks as he walks in front of them.

"How did you know that?" she asks.

"I don't see my sister very often, but she does try to keep in touch. Whenever it suits her," Qrow says.

"Wait, you mean you TALKED to her? That was real?" she asks.

"Yeah, she found me. Had a tip from my most recent assignment, and wanted me to give you a message," Qrow says.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Yang almost demands.

Qrow walks up to the window, "I was trying to wait for the right time, and this sure ain't it. But I guess you deserve to know," Qrow begins and looks at Yang. "She wanted me to tell you, that she saved you once, but you shouldn't expect that kindness again," Qrow relays the message, making Yang look down. "Raven's got an interesting way of looking at the world that I don't particularly agree with. And she's dangerous. But you're a tough egg, kiddo. Shouldn't let this tournament thing get you down. You had a slip up, sometimes bad things just happen. I'd say it's time you move on," Qrow tries to cheer her up.

Yang goes to speak, but Porphyrius speaks first.

"There's something else," he begins, making them look at him while he looks at Yang. "Khazhak's probably gonna kick the crap out of me for saying this, but I feel you should know Yang…Khazhak knows your mother," he admits.

"What?! How?!" she yells.

"I don't know all of the details. I wasn't with Khazhak as long as Reaper. But from what I've seen, she is Khazhak's master, and he, her apprentice. I've only seen her a few times, but each time she appeared, she and Khazhak would fight each other, as a way of her teaching him, and she would kick the crap out of him every time. For as long as I've known him, Khazhak has never lost a fight, except to her. He knew about you two, but she told him not to reveal the truth to you. Luckily, I was not bound by this order, so I can at least tell you. And before you think it, Khazhak has no idea where she is. She would just randomly appear, they'd fight, he'd lose, and she'd disappear again. That's how their relationship works basically," Porphyrius explains before walking up to and kneeling before Yang. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner about this. You see, my loyalty to Khazhak is unwavering, and that will never change…But you're someone I really care about as well. So…is there any chance you can forgive me for keeping this a secret from you?" Porphyrius pleads as he looks up to her.

Yang looks down, thinking for a moment, and then sighs. She gets up from her seat and sits in front of Porphyrius, and wraps her arms around his neck in a warm embrace.

"I forgive you Porphyrius. And thank you for telling me this. I know you don't ever go against Khazhak's orders like this. So again, thanks," she says, making him hug her back.

At least until Qrow coughs into his hand, and the two quickly move out of the hug, having forgotten that he was there, and having embarrassed looks on their faces. Recomposing herself, Yang looks back to Qrow.

"So as you were saying, move on to what?" she asks.

Qrow turns to and rests his hands against the windowsill, "Well, Raven let some info slip before she took off. If you ever want to track her down, I think I might be able to help," he replies as he looks back to her.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Khazhak are walking to the landing platforms at the front of the school to board the next ship heading to the coliseum. As they get in line, they hear a click sound and look right to see Velvet taking pictures with her camera at Sun as he walks by, showing off his weapon. Ruby and Khazhak decide to walk up to her, and after a few more pictures, Velvet notices them and turns to them.

"Ruby, Khazhak, how you going?" she greets them.

"Good to see you Velvet," Khazhak nods to her.

"Hi Velvet," Ruby waves to her. "What are you up to?" Ruby asks.

"Oh, you know, just working on my photography. Do you wanna see?" she asks, and shows them the pictures on her camera.

The camera shows a picture of Sun, specifically his weapon and not his face.

"That's…better," Ruby says, trying to be nice.

"You…got a good eye," Khazhak follows her lead.

"I'm…sorry to hear about your sister. Is she doing okay?" Velvet asks.

"Doing as well as she can, considering the circumstances," Khazhak says.

"Yeah, she's fine, heh, thanks," Ruby replies, shrugging her shoulders.

Velvet puts her camera away, "I think it's just awful what people are saying about her. Yang's such a nice person," Velvet says, crossing her arms.

"Heh, hm, well I'm glad someone thinks so," Ruby says, rubbing her head.

"Most people don't know what it's like on the battlefield. I mean, even experienced fighters can get scared and start seeing things. If it can happen to Coco, it can happen to anyone," Velvet says.

"Wait, Coco? What about her?" Khazhak asks.

"Yeah, she swore she saw Yatsu with her, in the forest during the fight with Emerald and Mercury, but HE never even made it out of the geyser fields. Stress-induced hallucinations, apparently," Velvet explains, while Ruby and Khazhak start thinking about her words.

"Yeah…" Ruby mutters, looking away in thought.

" _A similar situation just like with Yang's fight and my own. And what are the similarities? Emerald and Mercury, and that they saw something that apparently wasn't there. Something's not right. The pieces are beginning to come together,"_ Khazhak thinks until a sudden flash makes him and Ruby look wide-eyed, only to see Velvet taking their picture with her camera.

"Oh, sorry," Velvet apologizes.

A few minutes later, Khazhak and Ruby arrive at the coliseum and get into their seats near the front of the stands.

"I'm gonna go grab a soda. I'll be right back," Khazhak says and leaves.

"Okay," Ruby replies. Ruby looks around the stands with a smile, but then silently gasps when she sees Emerald sitting on the other side of the stands across from her. "Emerald's…HERE?" Ruby questions herself.

Looking around, Ruby leaves her seat and walks through the stands and goes through a door for the people working at the coliseum. As she walks through the hallway, she hears the announcements outside.

"Alright, it's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight," she hears Oobleck's voice as she continues walking.

As she is walking, she suddenly sees Mercury…WALKING out one door ahead of her, suddenly devoid of his previous "injury" and goes jawstruck as he stands in the middle of the hallway and turns to face her.

"Mercury…" she begins, but then the announcements come back on.

"It looks like our first contender is Penny Polendina from Atlas," she hears Port say and looks back to Mercury.

"What are you doing?" she asks, getting suspicious.

"And her opponent will be…Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!" Port announces while Mercury gets this wicked smirk on his face.

Ruby thinks for a moment, and then goes wide-eyed as she puts the pieces together.

"No," she gasps.

"Oooh, polarity vs metal. That could be bad," Mercury wickedly notes.

Ruby reaches for her weapon, but looks down and remembers that she didn't bring it with her, and looks back to Mercury, who takes a fighting stance. The arena changes form, becoming exactly like Khazhak and Yang's match setup. Penny smiles as the fight gets ready to commence. The rest of Team JNPR cheer for Pyrrha, but she just hangs her head, closing her eyes in sadness. Meanwhile, Khazhak walks back to his seat with his drink, but notices Ruby not in hers. He then looks to the arena and sees the combatants. He thinks for a moment before going wide-eyed.

"Oh no…" he mutters, realizing the situation that's in front of him, and then looks behind him. "Ruby…" he mutters worriedly, and drops his drink as he starts running to go after her. _"Please be okay, Ruby."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Khazhak is starting to figure it out, but he may already be too late. Things aren't looking good right now, and they may very well get worse. Will Khazhak out all the pieces together? Will he get to Ruby in time? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	50. Chapter 45: The First Shot Fired

**Here we are at Chapter 45. Let's welcome chaos (some of you are probably gonna hate me for this, but I did give you fair warning, and it is my story). I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 45. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 45: The First Shot Fired**

… _In Ozpin's office…_

Ozpin walks up to his desk, a holographic screen on it showing the randomization process going, while he pores himself a drink into his mug.

"Alright, It's now time to begin the randomization process for our next fight," he hears Oobleck's voice announce as he sits in his chair.

"It looks like our first contender is…Penny Polendina from Atlas," he hears Port's voice as he sips his drink. "And her opponent will be Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon," Port continues while Ozpin watches on his screen.

… _In the Amnity Coliseum…_

Pyrrha and Penny stand in the arena as their match gets set to begin.

"Sal-u-tations, Pyrrha Nikos. It's an honor to finally meet you," Penny greets her. However, Pyrrha's frown remains as she looks at her hands. "This is going to be so much fun!" Penny cheers.

Meanwhile, Ruby continues to stare down Mercury in the hallway under the stands.

"Mercury, what are you doing? You were hurt. Why…What's going on?" she questions him, but he doesn't answer and just smirks at her. "Fine. If you're not going to tell me…" Ruby begins as she sidesteps only for Mercury to mirror her, still standing in her way.

Ruby narrows her eyes before the announcements come on again.

"Fighters, are you ready?" she hears Oobleck's voice, as the crowd begins to cheer.

Back in the arena, Pyrrha and Penny prepare to battle, with General Ironwood watching on from the stands, along with the rest of Team JNPR doing the same.

"3…2…1…Begin!" Oobleck says, and the fight is on.

Penny immediately pulls out ten of her swords, spinning them around her before sending them flying at Pyrrha. Pyrrha runs towards her, jumping over several of the swords, using her sword and shield to block the rest as she ducks under them and runs at Penny. However, the swords circle around and fly right back at her. Meanwhile, back with Ruby and Mercury…

"Showtime," Mercury says.

Ruby tries to get around him, but Mercury mirrors her movements to stand in her way. Using her semblance, Ruby tries to zoom past him, but Mercury stops her with his boots and kicks her back to the ground, and starts walking towards her. Ruby pulls out her scroll, but Mercury shoots it out of her hands with his boots.

"Let's just keep this between us friends," he jokes before running back at her.

Meanwhile, back in the arena, Pyrrha spins her javelin around as she parries Penny's swords as they spin in front of her.

"My word, what a tremendous display by Miss Polendina," Port says as Penny manages to push Pyrrha back, who backflips away to get some distance.

Pyrrha jumps on one sword, leaping off of it, and swings her weapons down on Penny, who blocks it with her swords. Penny swings her swords at Pyrrha, but she jumps back in the air to avoid them. As she lands, Penny charges at her, swinging her swords around her body as they strike at Pyrrha, who deflects them with her javelin before she gets hit by one strike. Penny makes three more strikes, with the third pushing Pyrrha, making her slide back on her feet. Pyrrha then uses her semblance to pull her shield out onto her left arm. From the stands, the rest of Team JNPR watch on.

"Go, Pyrrha!" Nora cheers, while Jaune looks on with a worried expression.

Pyrrha looks at her weapons, and suddenly sees them bending unnaturally, not noticing Emerald using her semblance on her from the stands.

Meanwhile, Mercury kicks Ruby twice, knocking her back. He's about to kick her again, until a hand pops out from behind her and stops his boot. Ruby looks up to see it's Khazhak.

"Don't you DARE touch her," Khazhak menacingly threatens Mercury, pulling on his leg and throwing him back away from them. "Ruby, go. I'll handle this," he orders her.

"But-," she begins.

"GO!" He shouts, and she reluctantly nods. Mercury runs at them, but Khazhak pulls out his swords, parrying his kicks, and then kicking Mercury back, giving Ruby the chance to use her semblance and zoom past them as she starts running away. Khazhak watches her escape and then looks back at Mercury as he stands up. "So, it was you and your team that was behind all of this. The White Fang, Roman Torchwick, the dust, the Grimm, setting Yang up the way you did, messing with both her match, and my own, setting up Pyrrha and Penny to fight each other, and the Fall maiden," Khazhak says.

"You really are smart. Too bad you were too slow to figure it out sooner," Mercury taunts him.

"I'm guessing those legs of yours are prosthetic. That's the only way you could survive a hit from Yang like that and still be walking so soon. You got off lucky with her. She only broke one of your legs…I'm gonna break all FOUR of your limbs, and then I'm gonna break your neck," Khazhak angrily says before rushing at Mercury.

Mercury jumps, throwing a spinning kick at Khazhak, but Khazhak sidesteps out of the way, swing his left sword that hits Mercury's side, knocking him back. Mercury regains his balance and then throws a few kicks to Khazhak's right, but he blocks them with his right sword held upright, shooting off his left sword which Mercury backflips under before running at Khazhak again. Khazhak charges up his semblance, but makes no attacks as Mercury throws a jump kick at him. Khazhak ducks under the attack, making Mercury fly over him, and turns as Mercury lands behind him. Khazhak then throws his swords at Mercury, who throws a hook kick to knock them away, only for Khazhak to grab his right leg, and then grab his neck with his left hand. Khazhak lifts Mercury up before slamming him onto the ground and then throwing him up into the ceiling. Mercury falls back down, only for Khazhak to upper cut him back into the air. As Mercury begins to fall again, he performs a drop kick down on Khazhak. However, Khazhak grabs the drops kick before it hits him and spins Mercury right into the wall. Without letting go, Khazhak proceeds to spin and smash Mercury's body into the wall several times with his superior strength, eventually knocking him out cold as his aura goes down to zero, and then he drops him to the floor.

"Too bad for you that I held back a lot more than you thought in our last fight," Khazhak notes as he stands over Mercury.

Back in the arena, Pyrrha spins around, using her javelin and shield to deflect Penny's swords as she gets close enough and hits her three times, making her stumble back. Pyrrha quickly gets behind Penny and swings her javelin at her again, knocking her into the air. While in mid-air, Penny pulls out a few swords in front of her as Pyrrha lunges at her, blocking her first strike, with the second knocking her back. Penny flips and lands on her feet as she makes twelve of her swords go into gun form, coming together to form four floating laser guns of sorts, with them firing off green energy beams at Pyrrha. Pyrrha rolls around a few shots, backflipping over another one, and then leans back as a pair of swords spin at her. She then uses her weapon in sword form to block three strikes from Penny's blades before spinning away from another strike, and then flipping over fifth attack. She quickly flips again to evade two beam attacks, and then gets back on her feet to face Penny again. Pyrrha reels back her sword before lunging at Penny, the attack colliding at knocking Penny back over the edge of the arena. Pyrrha stands, smiling at her apparent victory, but then sees Penny shooting her beams behind her as she flies towards Pyrrha. Penny shoots up into the air before shooting back down and knocking Pyrrha back. Pyrrha rolls on the ground before back-flipping back onto her feet.

Back with Khazhak, he goes to finish off Mercury, but then hears the crowd cheering.

"Ruby," he mutters and looks back down to Mercury's unconscious form. "You're lucky I have more important things to deal with right now. But next time we meet…I'll kill you," Khazhak says before retracting his swords and runs to catch up to Ruby.

Meanwhile, Penny uses two of her swords to knock Pyrrha's shield and sword out of her hands. Pyrrha uses her semblance to pull them back to her, but they get knocked away again by Penny's swords. Penny readies eight swords above her. However, while everyone else only see eight swords, Emerald uses her semblance on Pyrrha to make her see HUNDREDS of swords pop out above Penny. Penny shoots out the eight swords at Pyrrha, while Pyrrha sees hundreds of swords lunge at her. Pyrrha retaliates by using her semblance to a much broader degree to push them back, and it works…However, not knowing that it was an illusion, nor knowing about the thin wires connecting Penny to her swords, Pyrrha accidently causes the swords to fly back around Penny. This causes the wires to wrap around her body…and rip her body apart in slow motion. In normal motion, the swords fall behind Penny's broken body, with one stabbing into a torn-off piece of her clothing. Pyrrha looks on in absolute horror at the scene in front of her, while the crowd boos and cries out in anguish at what they are seeing, with some trying to look away.

"No!" Port cries.

In Ozpin's office, he looks at his screen in shock at seeing that Penny was an android. Back in Atlas, an unknown individual with a white beard looks on, his face hidden, but his hand is seen tightly gripping the arm of the chair he's sitting in. Meanwhile, the Grimm near Vale feel the large increase in negativity coming from the stadium and the kingdom…and proceed to race to them both in large numbers. Ruby runs out the door from the hallway she was in…and falls to her knees as she sees her friend Penny in pieces.

"Penny…" she weeps, and starts crying at the death of her friend.

As the arena falls back into place, Khazhak runs out and sees Ruby on the ground.

"Ruby?" he walks up to her and then looks up, only to widen his eyes at the scene in front of him. "No…" Khazhak mutters as he kneels down, and then looks to Ruby, who is still crying. He pulls her to his chest while she cries on it, and sadly looks on at her. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry," he tries to consoles her.

"Broadcast, what are you doing?! Kill the feed!" Oobleck orders the crew.

"Something's wrong. We don't have control over the cameras. We can't even shut down the broadcast!" the crew member replies.

"What?! How is that possible?!" Oobleck asks.

Suddenly, the screen behind Oobleck and Port comes on, showing a red screen with a black queen chess piece in the center of it as they look back at it.

"This…is not a tragedy," Cinder's voice begins as people see the same image and hear her voice all around the world. "This…was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians…" Cinder continues as everyone looks to the screens, while Jaune looks only back into the arena in pure shock. Meanwhile, Cinder, back in her normal red dress, stands on one of the dorm buildings back at Beacon, using her scroll to broadcast her speech. "But are, in reality, nothing more than men. Our academies' headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet, what do we have here?" Cinder continues while Ironwood angrily gets up and walks away from his seat. "One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another star pupil," Cinder says while Pyrrha covers her mouth as she continues to look on in horror at Penny's destroyed body. "What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as an innocent little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference. And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching HIS students? First a dismemberment, now this. Huntsmen and huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither," Cinder continues while Weiss, Blake, Reaper, and Lloyd look on, shocked and angry looks on their faces. "Perhaps Ozpin felt as though defeating Atlas from the tournament would help people forget his COLOSSAL failure to protect Vale when the Grimm invaded its streets," she adds, while Yang looks down in sorrow before looking back to Porphyrius and Zwei, the corgi barking to her. "Or perhaps, this was his message to the tyrannical dictator that has occupied an unsuspecting kingdom with armed forces. Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong, but I know that the existence of peace is fragile, and the leaders of our kingdoms conduct their business with iron gloves," she continues as Ozpin watches his screen before looking back to the Atlas ships outside his window. As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you, the situation there is…equally undesirable," Cinder continues as Emerald leaves the stands. "Our kingdoms are at the brink of war, yet we, the citizens are left in the dark," she says as two Atlas soldiers listen to her speech, not noticing the massive herd of Grimm running towards them from behind.

The two soldiers turn around and start firing while Cinder continues her speech.

"So I ask you, when the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?" Cinder concludes her speech and the screens go back to normal.

"The feeds are all jammed. We can't get a message out!" Oobleck says.

"Will somebody tell me what in the world is happening?!" Port calls out.

Suddenly, emergency sirens come on, "Alert. Incoming Grimm attack. Threat level: 9. Please seek shelter in a calm and orderly manner," a message gets broadcasted.

However, calm is the last thing on everyone's minds as the people in the arena panic and race to the airships for escape. Meanwhile, Ironwood enters Port and Oobleck's announcer's booth and grabs the mike.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please there is no need for panic-," Ironwood tries to calm them down, but then a large Nevermore appears and starts attacking the shields around the arena.

"A Nevermore!" Sun shouts as he gets up from his seat.

"How did he get pasted the kingdom's defenses?" Coco says, lowering her aviators.

Ren stands up, "It wasn't alone," he says ominously.

Back in Ozpin's office, Ozpin watches the chaos begin to unfold until Glynda and Qrow run into his office.

"Oz-," Qrow begins.

"Get to the city," he orders them as he faces them.

"But-," Qrow starts.

"NOW!" Ozpin shouts, losing his calm demeanor for once, and the two leave.

Meanwhile in Mountain Glenn, an army of Grimm race through the ruined city, heading straight for the kingdom. Back in the arena, Ironwood, Oobleck, and Port watch the large Nevermore continue its assault on the arena's shields until Ironwood gets a call on his scroll and pulls it out to reveal Ozpin calling him.

"Ozpin, the girl, I-I can explain-," Ironwood begins.

"You brought your army to my kingdom, James. Use it," Ozpin orders him.

On one of Ironwood's main ships, the crew type away at their computers as Nevermores attack the fleet.

"Dammit! This is Blue 4. Blues 2 and 3, fall into defensive position," the ship captain orders the other two ships.

"Roger, Blue 3 in position," the second ship replies, but the third ship doesn't respond.

"Blue 2, what's your status?! Blue 2, come in! Someone, answer me dammit!" he calls to the third ship.

On the third ship, the crew is knocked out and some of their computers are damaged as a lone figure walks by. The figure turns out to be Neo, wearing an Atlas uniform, as she walks up to one of the cells on the ship, carrying her open umbrella, and Roman's cane and fedora. She opens up the cell door, revealing the occupant inside to be Roman Torchwick.

"Well…It's about time," he says, smiling at being free.

Suddenly, the ship Roman's on turns right to face the other two ships, and fires at one of the other ships, causing it to fall and crash into the second ship.

"We're hit! What's going on-," he hears as the two ships show some explosions and fall out of the sky.

"Woohoo-hahaha-ha. Oh, it is good to be back," he laughs as he controls the ship.

Meanwhile, at the Beacon landing platforms, three bullhead airships land on the center platform. The middle one opens up the side hatch, revealing Adam Taurus and members of the White Fang on board.

"Bring them to their knees," Adam orders them.

The other two airships open up their side hatches, allowing the Grimm inside to jump out, roaring as their eyes glow red. Back at the arena, Khazhak watches the events unfold and thinks to himself.

" _The darkness…has come."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter, albeit a little short. The dark battle has begun, and everyone fell right into Cinder's trap, and already friends have been lost. Now the time has come for Team KEPL and their comrades to protect their home, but will they succeed? Will the students of Beacon survive? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	51. Chapter 46: The Battle for Beacon

**Her we are at Chapter 46. There may be a surprise or two within this and the next couple of chapters, so keep an eye out for them. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 47. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 46: The Battle for Beacon**

… _At the Fairgrounds…_

Civilians run and hide in complete terror while AK-200s fire their rifles at the swarms of Grimm running through the fairgrounds and beyond. Amidst the chaos, Blake, Weiss, Reaper, and Lloyd run up and watch all the madness transpire around them. They look around, shocked that something like this is happening right now, all around them.

"I don't believe this," Weiss says.

"Believe it Weiss. All Hell is breaking loose," Lloyd replies.

Blake then gets a call on her scroll and pulls it out, showing Yang on the other end.

"Yang, are you okay?" Blake asks.

Back at Beacon, Yang along with Zwei and Porphyrius run through the hallway, turning around one corner while Yang has her scroll out.

"I'm fine. Is Ruby with you? She's not answering her scroll," Yang says as they continue running.

"No, she isn't with us," Blake replies, then the three stop running. "Yang, I'm sure she's fine. She's our leader, she can take care of herself," Blake tries to calm her partner.

"Yeah, besides, Khazhak is with her. I know he won't let anything bad happen to her," Porphyrius adds.

Yang clenches her fist and sighs, "Right," she says and they start running again.

However, Porphyrius stops her, "Yang," he says.

"What is it?" she asks.

"You go and join up with your team. I need to go find mine. Just…please, be careful," he says.

"I will," she replies and he turns to run in the opposite direction of her. However, she thinks for a moment and then calls out to him. "Porphyrius!" she yells, and he stops. She runs up to him as he turns to her, just in time to give him a quick, but passionate kiss on the lips. She remains like that for a moment before pulling away, leaving him stunned. "You be careful too, okay," she tells him.

Porphyrius gets a serious look and nods to her, "You got it," he says and then runs down another hallway while she goes in the opposite direction.

Back at the fairgrounds, "…This can't be happening…Penny," Weiss sadly says as she looks down, mourning the loss of her friend.

"I'm heading to the docks near the courtyard. The White Fang are releasing Grimm into the school!" Yang says from the other end of Blake's scroll.

"The White Fang is here!" Blake begins, but then starts hearing growls and explosions on the other end. "Yang!" she calls out.

Yang is heard grunting, "I gotta go. Be careful," she says while more growling is heard on her end before the connection ends.

"Well, this just from bad to crap real fast!" Lloyd notes.

"Our enemies have now made their move. And we were unprepared for it," Reaper adds.

"Blake, what are we going to do?" Weiss asks her.

Blake thinks for a moment before pulling up her scroll again, "We're going to the docks, and we're doing our job," she replies while typing away at her scroll.

A moment later, a rocket locker lands behind them, and opens up to reveal her weapon inside it. The other three look at her before nodding in agreement. Back at the coliseum, the large Nevermore screeches as it continues to attack the arena's shields. In the stands, people run by as Khazhak holds and looks at Ruby, who continues to stare blankly into space, still reeling at seeing Penny die in front of her. Inside the arena, Pyrrha gets back on her feet, but can't turn her shocked and horrified face away at Penny's mangled body.

"Pyrrha! Pyrrha, that thing's going to break in! You gotta move!" Jaune yells out to her from the stands, but Pyrrha doesn't even respond to him. Jaune, Ren, and Nora look up to see the giant Nevermore fly up higher above the arena, then shooting down towards them. Jaune jumps over the stands and lands in the arena, running towards Pyrrha. "Pyrrha, please snap out of it!" he calls out to her.

However, the giant Nevermore smashes through the arena's shields, landing right in front of Pyrrha. The shockwave from the landing knocks back Pyrrha and Jaune to the ground while sending Penny's body parts flying past them. Pyrrha looks up at the Grimm as it charges at her. But before it can get her, a red blur quickly smashes into it, one of Penny's sword stabbed into its chest. The Nevermore reels back and the red blur lands in front of Pyrrha, revealing to be Ruby holding one of Penny's swords in her right hand.

"Ruby?" Pyrrha says.

"Leave her alone!" Ruby yells as she holds the sword with both hands in front of her, no longer wearing her sad expression from earlier.

The Grimm goes to attack Ruby, but then suddenly Khazhak shows up and punches the Nevermore right at its beak before pushing off of it. He pulls out his swords and quickly charges up his semblance in mid-air.

"LIGHTNING SLASH!" he yells, sending a wave of blue lightning at the Grimm, hitting its face. Khazhak then lands right next to Ruby. "You want them, you gotta go through me!" he shouts.

The Nevermore screeches before it takes flight, encircling the arena while Khazhak and Ruby prepare for its attack. However, as the Grimm flies towards them, many rocket lockers suddenly collide on top of the Grimm's body, making it fall onto and slide across the ground in front of the two of them before collapsing. The lockers open up, showing off various weapons. Ruby, Khazhak, and Pyrrha look on in slight awe as the members of Teams JNPR, SSSN, CFVY, ABRN, and the two members of Team FNKI retrieve their weapons, ready to join the fight. However, the Nevermore they're standing on and around begins to get back up, making them lose their balance. The young huntsmen begin moving, with Ren jumping up and stabbing the blade of his right auto-pistol into the Grimm's left eye. Arslan uses her rope dart to swing under the Grimm's neck, and grabs Yatsuhashi while Sage jumps high into the air, and Nora runs along the Grimm's back before using her hammer to smash its head back onto the ground. In the air, Arslan tosses Yatsuhashi up, and together with Sage, they use their large swords and swing at the same time, decapitating the Nevermore. The Grimm's head falls and its body quickly disintegrates. Ruby and Khazhak look at the others before they turn to Pyrrha.

"Ruby, I…" Pyrrha begins, tearing up a bit as she looks down and holds onto a piece of fabric from Penny's clothing. She then looks back up to Ruby, "I'm so sorry," she apologizes, tears in her eyes.

"Me too…" Ruby begins, looking down in sorrow before getting a firm look on her face and looking back at her. "But it wasn't your fault," she replies.

"She's right Pyrrha. You were set up, just like Yang…Just like we all were," Khazhak adds.

"They're right," they look to see Jaune walking by them, carrying Pyrrha's sword and shield as he walks to Pyrrha. "Whoever was on the microphone…THEY'RE the ones that did this," he begins as Pyrrha stands back up. "And we have to make sure they don't take anyone ELSE," Jaune firmly says while handing Pyrrha her sword and shield.

Pyrrha grabs her gear and gets a serious look on her face, agreeing with Jaune as they look back along with Ruby to the rest of the teams that have joined them, all brandishing their weapons. Khazhak then walks up to them.

"Listen up, while I may not be your leader, I ask you…No, I ORDER you: to fight. Our enemies plan on wiping us all out. But, we have all been training for this. Well, the time has come to show them what we're made of. Show them that they made a big mistake in attacking us like this. WE are no longer kids. WE are no longer students! Show our enemies, and show the whole world who we are! Show them all that WE ARE HUNTSMEN!" Khazhak screams, hoisting his left sword above him as his fellow comrades cheer with him, ready to fight.

Just then, they hear some roaring sounds behind them and look up to see Grimm Gryphons landing ceiling above the stands while the rest fly overhead.

"Gryphons," Ren notes.

"Anybody got a plan of attack?" Neptune asks while aiming his gun at them.

Ruby steps up, "Sun…" she says, making them turn to her. "I need your scroll," she says as she looks at him.

Sun uses his tail to toss his scroll to her. Ruby turns around, pressing a button on it, and then a rocket locker lands behind everyone a moment later. The locker opens up with her sniper-scythe inside, but as she runs for it, a Gryphon lands on top of it, blocking her path. It roars at her, but then a random shot rings out, hitting the Grimm and making it fly away while she looks back.

"Students…" the shots came from Professor Port's blunderbuss gun, with Dr. Oobleck standing next to him with his thermos extended into weapon form. "I think it would be best for you to leave," Port says.

"But we can help-," Ruby begins.

"Miss Rose!" Oobleck stops her. "…This day will surely go down in Remnant's history. I'd prefer it if my students could live to tell about it," he says, offering a small smile to her.

Khazhak walks up beside her, "They're right Ruby. We have our own battles to fight," he says before looking to his teachers. "Just make sure YOU live through this as well. Otherwise, I may actually start missing Professor Port's stories," Khazhak jokes, making them smile.

Ruby nods to them and grabs her weapon. "Let's go!" she says, extending her weapon into its sniper-scythe form.

The group of huntsmen-in-training begin running to the landing platforms to get to the airships. Ruby points in the direction for them, like a commander of an army, and then Velvet takes a picture of her and her scythe with her camera.

"Velvet!" she hears Coco call her and runs to join them.

They all head down one path while Port and Oobleck stay behind, back-to-back, to face the Gryphons encircling the arena.

Port laughs, "One final match, Barty! Place your bets!" he says as they prepare to fight.

Meanwhile, civilians run down the pathways to the landing platforms to get to the airships and get out of the coliseum. People begin getting onboard airships ready to take them away to safety. However, as the evacuation process continues, bullhead airships fly up, open their side hatches, and release more Grimm onto the platforms. A few AK-200s start firing their rifles at the Grimm, with Ironwood standing beside them as they take out the Grimm. However, one robot soldier is taken out by an Alpha Beowolf, a larger version of a Beowolf along with more bone armor around the torso, knees, shoulders, and head. The Alpha Beowolf grabs a second robot and rips it in two before staring back at Ironwood. Ironwood narrows his eyes and starts to run at the Alpha Beowolf. The Grimm responds in kind by running on all fours towards the general. Ironwood screams as they get close, and then pulls out a custom magnum pistol from his jacket. He slide under the Grimm as it jumps and swipes its claws at him, firing off two shots at his stomach. The Grimm lands and turns back to him, damaged by the shots but not dead, while Ironwood swings and slides back, his right hand digging into the concrete floor. The Alpha Beowolf charges at Ironwood again while he fires off three more shots. When it gets close, the Grimm swings its right claw at him, but he ducks and spins around. The Grimm attacks with its left claw, only for Ironwood to stop it cold with his right hand. Ironwood fires at its feet, the blast knocking it off its feet, and then swings its body around and slamming it into the floor before pulling its body up with its head over his pistol, and pulls the trigger. The shot kills the Grimm, and its body falls to the ground before disintegrating.

Ironwood walks up to an airship as the teams of young huntsmen run up to him.

"What's going on?!" Ruby asks.

"Grimm are crawling all over the city. The White Fang has invaded Beacon, and to make matters worse, some…vagabond has seized one of my ships. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. So I'm…" he begins before aiming his magnum behind them and firing, taking out a Grimm Creep sneaking up behind them. "Going to take it back," he says and turns to board an airship.

"What should we do?" Jaune asks.

Ironwood turns to them, "You have two choices. Defend your kingdom and your school, or save yourselves," he says, and they all look around to each other. "No one will fault you if you leave," he says.

"I would," Khazhak says, and they all look to him. "I would fault myself if I were to just turn tail and run while my comrades fight for their lives. Beacon is my HOME. It's where my comrades, my FRIENDS, live. And it's there that I had to chance to meet all these strong warriors, and these great friends. I can't speak for everyone else, but I will not run away and leave them to die. I'll fight, for my home, and for my friends," Khazhak says, making them all look at him in slight awe.

Ironwood nods to him and turns around, "Let's move out!" he commands and boards his airship, taking off into the sky.

"I mean, come on," Sun says, annoyed that Ironwood left without giving them a ship.

"We can take a ship to Beacon," Jaune says and they all start running, while Ruby and Khazhak watch Ironwood's ship leave.

Meanwhile, back on one of Ironwood's ships, Roman continues to command the vessel as he walks up to one of the computer stations.

"Hm, let's see, what dooeesss this button do?" Roman says, pushing a random button, causing an explosion and a low rumble behind him. Oooh, fun! How about this one?" he says, pushing another button and looks back while placing a hand to his left ear to hear for another explosion. However, what really happens is a hatch on the ship opens up, releasing a few AK-200s from the hatch, and falling through the sky. "Hm, alright, nothing," he notes, not noticing what happened. Then, Neo walks up and hands him a black scroll. "Oh-ho-ho," he says, and hooks the scroll into the computer systems on the ship. "Now, this one…This one's gonna be fun," he adds as the screen on the scroll turns red with the black queen chess piece on it, followed by the rest of the screens on the ship turning red.

Cinder's virus has now infected the ship's systems…including those controlling the Atlas robots. Back in the city, Grimm continue to swarm and destroy it. Several AK-200s fire their rifles at the beasts, with one Beowolf leaping down from a rooftop only to get knocked back by Glynda Goodwitch with her semblance. Another Beowolf charges at her, but it gets quickly killed by Qrow who stabs it with his sword. As a few AK-200s prepare to fire on more Grimm, their black faceplates suddenly turn red. The infected robot soldiers turn around and aim their weapons at Goodwitch and Qrow.

"What?!" Glynda shouts, confused.

Back at Beacon, Weiss, Blake, Lloyd, and Reaper run through the courtyard towards several more AK-200s. Their faceplates turn red as well and they turn around and aim their weapons at the group.

"Look out!" Blake yells as she tackles Weiss to the ground.

Lloyd activates his semblance, using his body as a shield, "What the Hell is going on here?! Has Ironwood turned on us?!" he shouts as he crosses his arms in front of him to protect the others.

"No, it's must be our enemies doing. They've taken control of the Atlas robots!" Reaper replies as he stands behind him.

The Atlas robot soldiers surround the four, who ready their weapons and prepare to fight. Meanwhile on Ironwood's ship, he continues flying in the sky until the robots in his ship come on, with their faceplates glowing red. They turn around and aim their weapons at him. Ironwood looks back and stands up.

"No!" he yells.

An explosion rings out from his ship, and in falls to the ground below. On another airship nearby, Ruby and Khazhak's group watch this unfold and look on in shock. Ruby then turns and races back, with Khazhak right behind her.

"Ruby! Khazhak! What are you doing?!" Sun calls out to them, but to no avail.

The rear hatch of the airship opens up with Ruby and Khazhak running out of it. They jump off the ship and fall towards the coliseum. Ruby uses her semblance to land on a landing platform on it, while Khazhak fires his sword guns behind him to propel him onto the platform next to her. They look back to their friends' airship before Ruby looks to Khazhak. Khazhak nods to her and they run back into the arena. Once inside, they look around and find two rocket lockers that appear to be undamaged. The two press some buttons on them, and then Ruby Takes out her sniper-scythe, hooking the blade around the top of the locker, while Khazhak stabs his swords into his. Their rocket lockers then take off into the sky, set to fly near the ship that Roman is on. However, as they're flying towards the airship, a Gryphon flies by and collides with Khazhak's rocket locker, taking him off course and sending him downward towards the city. Ruby looks back in worry, back Khazhak nods to her to keep going as he falls, and she eventually nods back. Ruby eventually reaches the airship and jumps off her rocket locker, landing on the top of the airship. Inside the cockpit, Roman and Neo notice the slight shaking caused by Ruby's landing.

Roman groans, "Go see what that is," he waves his hand to Neo, who smiles and nods before leaving while Roman cracks his neck.

Meanwhile, Khazhak gets closer to the city and then jumps off his locker, landing in the middle of a street. But when he stands up, he looks around to see that he's completely SURROUNDED by Grimm on all sides.

"Oh, this is gonna be great," he groans before cocking his swords, preparing to fight.

Meanwhile, on one side of the school, Porphyrius is firing his rifles at several Grimm that are running at him. After killing a few of them, Porphyrius leaps over the rest when they get close, spinning in the air and firing his rifles at them again, killing three more. Porphyrius lands and looks back at the four remaining Beowolves that run at him again. Porphyrius charges at them, and then rolls under the first tow while slicing them in half and then jumps up and spins his blades around as he decapitates the remaining two. After he lands back on his feet, he looks around.

"This isn't looking good. I just hope everyone is okay," he mutters before running off to find the others.

Back at the courtyard, numerous AK-200s walk forward together, firing at their targets. However, the robots are blowing up as something quickly shoots by, slicing three more of them to pieces. Weiss Schnee zooms past the machines, using her superior speed and her rapier to slash her way through any Atlas robot in her way. She then makes a glyph on one robot before pushing off of it with her feet, sending her flying backwards into the air. Far behind her, Blake swings her chain-scythe around, taking out several White Fang members, and then lands on the ground as more rush at her. She slashes at two members, with a third attempting to strike her, but she uses her semblance to evade the attack as she flips backwards. As more come at her, they are all suddenly knocked back from Weiss sending out a shockwave from behind them. Behind her, Lloyd claws at his way through three AK-200s before grabbing the head of a fourth, crushing it. He then kicks away another one before jumping up and slamming his claws into the ground, sending out a shockwave that takes out several more. Meanwhile, Reaper spins his twin scythe around as he strikes at three White Fang members that try to attack him from different angles, making them fly backwards. He then twirls his weapon above him before throwing it and having the spinning projectile slice its way through around a dozen more members, knocking them into the air, and then releases four skull phantoms to take them down before he grabs his weapon as it returns to him. The four warriors regroup with each other, but then look ahead to see several Atlas soldiers firing and retreating back as they are taken out by a black and white Atlesian Paladin, which has also been infected by Cinder's virus.

"Come on!" Weiss yells and they start running towards them.

However, they hear some noise behind them and look up into the sky to see a bullhead airship falling to the ground. But before it hits the ground, an Alpha Beowolf leaps out of it and lands in the courtyard. Now they have a giant robot and an Alpha Beowolf to deal with. The group look at each other before coming to a decision.

"Be safe," Weiss says to Blake before they run in different directions, with Reaper, Lloyd, and Weiss heading towards the Paladin while Blake follows the Alpha Beowolf.

As Blake chases the Alpha Beowolf to one side of the school cafeteria building, it jumps and grabs onto the side of the wall above her and roars back. But before Blake can do anything, she hears screaming inside the destroyed cafeteria and looks inside. Inside the burning remains of the large room, she sees an Atlas soldier thrown onto the ground…and someone else she knows all too well.

"No," she says, fear gripping her voice. The person in the room…is her old partner, Adam Taurus. "Adam?" she says as he spots her and smiles at her, although the smile is anything but friendly.

"Hello, my darling," Adam sadistically replies, wearing an evil smile on his face.

Back at the courtyard, Jaune is seen running towards and swinging his sword at an Ursa, taking it out. Neo is then seen racing around him with a Boarbatusk on her tail, racing by Coco who's firing off her gatling gun at a Gryphon. Behind her is Arslan, and then an Ursa Major running at Nora, who fires her grenade launcher at it, knocking it back. Behind Nora, Ren runs as he fires his auto-pistols at a Beowolf, killing it. Next, Lloyd is seen slamming another Beowolf into the ground before swinging its body around into another Beowolf, sending them flying. Near him, Reaper fires one of his hidden knives at a Creep, pulling it towards him as she slices it in two with his twin scythe. Beyond all this, Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald watch on top of a dorm building, watching the chaos unfold around them while Mercury records it all on his scroll.

"Beautiful," Cinder notes.

"…It's almost sad," Emerald says, showing some remorse.

"It's horrendous," Cinder adds, but lacks any remorse as she smiles and turns to Mercury. "Focus on the Atlesian Knights," she tells him.

Mercury chuckles, "Oh-ho-ho, I'm getting all of it," he says, smiling.

"Good. Continue the broadcast until the end," she says, but then the ground shakes, making them lose their balance for a moment. "And do NOT miss what happens next," she says, still smiling evilly as she walks by them, with Mercury pointing his scroll at her.

In Ozpin's office, he watches the chaos transpire on his screens, with one screen showing Atlas soldiers firing on a Death Stalker, buildings up in smoke, and civilians on top of another building, waving for help. He shakes his head before walking around his desk, grabbing his cane with his right hand. He begins to walk out of his office, holding his cane like that of a sword, but then stops as the tower rumbles and shakes. Back at the city, Glynda and Qrow continue to fight until the ground shakes around them, making them stop.

"No," Glynda mutters while Qrow stabs his sword into the ground for leverage.

At the school, Jaune feels the ground shake while behind him, Sage and Scarlet hang on the back on an Ursa Major as it walks up behind Jaune. Beyond the city, at Mountain Glenn, a lone mountain begins to crumble and break apart, showing something within. Something BIG. The mountain explodes, and a giant Grimm DRAGON jumps out. The Grimm Dragon has a body larger than any other Grimm species, with white bone armor on its head, torso, and legs, and has large red wings. The Grimm Dragon roars and flies towards the city. As the Grimm Dragon flies over the city, black liquid drops come out from its body and fall to the ground. When they hit the ground, they splatter, and then more Creatures of Grimm spawn from them. Khazhak looks on as the Grimm Dragon flies over him, sending more back drops to the ground, and spawning more Grimm around him.

"Crap," he mutters.

Meanwhile, Ozpin looks out his window at the Grimm Dragon, as it flies around the tower, dropping more black goo and spawning more Grimm around the school. Teams SSSN and JNPR stand together, ready to face the new horde of Grimm, but then Pyrrha sees Ozpin standing outside the school tower, waiting for her as Team SSSN runs by. Pyrrha then starts walking to him.

"Where's she going?!" Nora asks.

"I'll go find out. You two stay here and keep fighting," Jaune replies and runs after Pyrrha.

However, none of them notice Cinder standing on top of a dorm building far behind them, her eyes glowing in the night. Back at the city, Khazhak slashes through two more Beowolves with his swords, breathing a little heavily at having no time to catch his breath from the endless onslaught of Grimm around him. But, even with all that's happening around him, Khazhak can only think of one thing as he charges at the Grimm again.

" _Please be safe everyone. Please be safe…Ruby."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. The battle gets underway, as the members of Teams RWBY and KEPL fight on separate fronts. Khazhak fights alone in the city, while the others fight their own battles. A few surprises for you in the next chapter, as well as a few questions because of them. Will Khazhak and his allies survive? Will they save Beacon? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	52. Chapter 47: Unleash the Dragon

**Here we are at Chapter 47. A few surprises in this chapter, with one showing that Khazhak may be just as special as Ruby Rose. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 47. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 47: Unleash the Dragon**

… _On Ironwood's ship…_

The Grimm Dragon flies by Ironwood's airship, with Ruby on top watching it pass by. Then she sees many Gryphons fly overhead, with one landing in front of her and roaring at her. Ruby swings her sniper-scythe upwards at it, hitting it before making a series of spinning slashes at its body. The attacks push the Gryphon back as Ruby jumps back before shooting over to it. The Gryphon charges at her as well, and they clash with blade and claw, making three strikes. However, Ruby emerges the victor as she stands, panting, while the Grimm falls behind her, only to reveal Neo standing behind her.

"Huh?" Ruby says as she looks back.

Neo uses her semblance to make the Atlas uniform she's wearing disappear, with her normal attire taking its place, as she takes a picture of Ruby with her scroll and winks at her. Inside the cockpit, Roman gets a message from Neo on his scroll, showing the picture of Ruby she took along with the words "Guess who?"

Roman groans, "Oh, you CANNOT be serious?" Roman says as he takes his scroll and proceeds to exit the inside of the airship.

… _Back at Beacon, with Blake…_

Blake looks at Adam inside the school, and starts to slowly back away in fear.

"Running away again?" he asks, making her stop. "Is that what you've become, my love? A coward!" he says.

"Why are you doing this?" Blake asks.

"You and I were going to change the world, remember? We were destined to light the fires of revolution!" he says and then steps on an Atlas student laying on the ground. "Consider THIS the spark," he says as he takes out his sword, preparing to kill the boy.

But before he can do so, Blake quickly crashes into him, with her sword clashing against his as sparks go flying from the blades.

"I'm NOT running," she says defiantly.

"You WILL," Adam retorts before kicking Blake to the ground as a Grimm Creep appears. The Creep runs at Blake, but then gets killed by a gunshot from Adam's sheath gun before it reaches her. "But NOT before you've suffered for your betrayal, my love," Adam says before he starts walking to her.

Back in the city, Khazhak slices through another Ursa before firing off his sword guns at three Beowolves running at him, killing them all. Next, Khazhak stabs one Beowolf in the chest before lifting it up and slamming it into the ground, firing his sword gun to release his sword, and using the recoil to swing his right sword around to decapitate another Ursa. Khazhak pants for a moment, looking around to see more Grimm closing in on him. Khazhak charges up his semblance as they approach him.

LIGHTNING OBLIVION!" he yells as he swings his swords, sending multiple lightning bolts out to kill several more Grimm. Khazhak looks to the school, then to Ironwood's airship, thinking about his comrades before looking back to see three Death Stalkers coming his way. "This is never-ending," he mutters before charging at the Grimm.

Back at the school courtyard, Velvet tries to get back up, only for Coco to crash into her on the ground while Neon and Reese race by them. They move around Bolin, Arslan, and Nadir as they surround and fight off a large Gryphon, with Bolin attacking an AK-200 with his staff. Reese zooms by and uses her hoverboard to slice another AK-200 in half before she and Neon continue moving. Meanwhile, Sun is fighting off an Atlesian Paladin, blocking its lasers with his staff. Next, Ren and Nora shoot their weapons at a group of AK-200s, destroying them, and then Lloyd is seen swinging his right claw upwards, knocking an Ursa Major back. Yatsuhashi is seen striking a Gryphon with his large sword, and then Fox runs behind him while Flynt plays his trumpet, sending soundwaves at a Creep. Meanwhile, Reaper spins his twin scythe around, shredding four AK-200s to pieces. Reese and Neon then race under the legs of another Atlesian Paladin, its legs becoming encased in ice as Weiss comes from behind it, using her glyphs to jump at it. However, the Atlesian Paladin uses one of its arms to knock her away.

"Weiss!" Neptune yells as he reaches out to her.

The Atlesian Paladin throws a right punch at Yatsuhashi, who blocks with his sword and holds his ground, but the large machine overpowers him and sends him flying backwards. Meanwhile, Ren is trying to catch his breath as another Atlesian Paladin turns around and walks up to him.

"Look out!" Nora shouts, seeing this, and pushes Ren out of the way only to get punched by the mech herself.

"Nora, no!" Ren yells and turns to her, only to get knocked back by the Atlesian Paladin as well.

"Nora! Ren!" Reaper yells before he has to jump back to avoid an attack from the mech.

The Atlesian Paladin turns to Coco, Velvet, and Neptune, and Coco and Neptune start firing their weapons at it. However, the attacks don't seem to be doing much damage.

"Uh, this is bad," Neptune notes as they continue firing.

Coco stops firing, "Well, I guess now's a better time than any. Velvet!" she says, turning to her teammate.

"…Really?" Velvet asks with anticipation.

"Just make 'em count," Coco replies.

Velvet nods to her and walks in front of them, up to the two Atlesian Paladins standing in front of them.

Weiss gets back up, "What are you doing?! She's going to get hurt!" Weiss shouts.

"Just watch," Coco replies, remaining calm.

Velvet stands in front of the mechs, lifting up her right hand. Just then, a light blue holographic copy of Crescent Rose, Ruby's sniper-scythe, appears in her right hand. One Paladin fires its right laser rifle at her, but she jumps up, seen in the air in slow motion. In normal motion, she swings her holographic sniper-scythe at the mech before landing on the ground. Next, the sniper-scythe disappears, and in Velvet's left hand, a holographic copy of Weiss' rapier, Myrtenaster, appears. The Atlesian Paladin swings its right arm at her, but she swings her holographic rapier upwards, using the dust in the rapier to push back the attack and then backflips away before taking the same combat stance as Weiss with her rapier near her head and aimed at her opponent. Velvet shoots forth, thrusting three strikes at the mech and then suddenly punches it away with holographic copies of Yang's shotgun gauntlets, Ember Celica. The attack makes the mech stumble back while Velvet lands on the ground and then fires off two shots at it. The Atlesian Paladin then swings its right arm at her again, but she ducks under it while changing her holographic shotgun gauntlets into a holographic version of Blake's sword, Gamble Shroud. As the mech swings its arm back around, Velvet jumps and stabs her right sword into its hand for the ride. The mech stops spinning, but Velvet jumps off, using the ribbon on her holographic sword to wrap around the mech's legs. She lands away from it and pulls on the ribbon, making the Atlesian Paladin fall down.

Velvet looks back as the second Atlesian Paladin attempts to punch her from behind, but she swings her left blade at it, slicing off its left fist. She then throws her blade at the mech's cockpit, before suddenly firing at it with a holographic copy of Coco's gatling gun. The mech tries to punch her with its right arm, but she makes a holographic copy of Sun's staff, and blocks the attack, before running along the mech's arm and jumping into the air, and then smashing a holographic copy of Nora's hammer onto its right arm, breaking it off the body. She lands back on the second Atlesian Paladin as the first one begins to get back up. She makes her hammer disappear, and replaces it with a holographic version of Penny's backpack that contains her flying swords. She conjures up ten holographic swords before back-flipping off the mech and landing on the ground. She swings the swords around, cutting off the mech's legs, making it fall to the ground. Velvet then positions the swords, in their gun forms, in a spinning circle in front of her and charges up before firing off a massive blast that finishes off the second Atlesian Paladin. However, as she stands from the attack, the first Atlesian Paladin sucker punches her from her right side, knocking her to the ground.

"Velvet!" Coco shouts before firing her gatling gun at the mech.

Neptune, Nadir, Lloyd, and Reese join her and start firing off their weapons at it. Weiss just looks on for a moment before growling to herself and starts running around them, using her glyphs to increase her speed. Suddenly, in slow motion, as she's running, a new glyph with swords on it, her summoning glyph, appears behind her. In normal motion, the Atlesian Paladin prepares to punch Velvet again as Weiss stops in front of her. Weiss attempts to block the punch with her rapier and raises it above her while closing her eyes. However, the attack doesn't hit and she slowly looks up to see a giant sword, being held by the arm of a suit of armor ("White" Trailer), holding back the attack. Weiss has subconsciously made her first successful summoning. The summoned arm deflects the punch away and then swings its sword downwards, cleaving the Atlesian Paladin completely in half. Weiss looks back at the summoned arm before a flash appears in front of her and she looks to see Velvet taking a picture of her with her camera. However, the ground under them starts to rumble. The rest of the group look to the front of the courtyard to see another Atlesian Paladin appear, only this one is more heavily armored and more powerful.

"…You have GOT to be kidding me!" Sun complains as everyone else looks in worry.

The mech begins to run at them, and they prepare to fight.

"I'll handle this one," they hear a voice behind them.

They look back to see Voshkie'ahk Ryukado calmly walking up from behind them.

"Wait! Who are you?!" Coco asks, not knowing who she really is.

"A friend of Khazhak's. I'm here to help out a bit," she replies and walks up to Weiss, who's hunched over in exhaustion from the summoning. Voshkie'ahk cups her chin in her left hand. "You rest up, I'll have this dance," Voshkie'ahk says, winking at her before walking ahead of them, leaving Weiss bewildered.

Voshkie'ahk closes her eyes, "I beseech thee…Tiamat…Grant me your power…" Voshkie'ahk says and opens her eyes, revealing that her left eye had changed color from gold to a glowing green.

Voshkie'ahk stops in front of them and pulls out many of her dust cards, tossing them into the air as they start to spin around her. The cards begin to glow red, blue, and yellow before they float in front of her and start spinning faster as the mech quickly approaches her. Before the mech gets close enough to hit her, her cards glow even brighter.

"DRAGON EMPEROR DESTROYER!" She shouts as a huge blast of red, blue, and yellow energy surge out from her cards. The blast obliterates the mech in one shot, reducing it to pieces. Everyone looks in complete shock and awe while Voshkie'ahk calmly turns to them. "That's the best I can do for now. The rest will be up to you," Voshkie'ahk says before winking at Weiss again and throwing one card to the ground, vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

"…So, anyone have any idea who that was?" Sun asks, but everyone just shake their heads.

Meanwhile, back on Ironwood's ship, Ruby swings and spins her sniper-scythe around as she battles Neo. Neo backflips away as Ruby throws her spinning scythe at her, before it spins back to her and she catches it. She slams the blade into the ship as she fires off a shot at Neo. Neo shatters like glass from the round, thanks to her semblance, showing Roman behind her who fires his cane at Ruby. The shot hits Ruby, sending her flying, but she stabs her scythe blade onto the ship, sliding back before stopping, leaving a gash in the hull. Ruby looks back while still on the ground before she looks up to see Roman standing next to her.

Roman rests his hands on his cane, "Little red, little red. You are just DETERMINED to be the hero of Vale, aren't ya?" he says.

"What are you doing?! Without these ships, the Grimm will destroy everything!" Ruby asks him.

"That's the plan!" he replies before aiming his cane at her.

Ruby grabs the cane, pulling Roman away as he fires and gets up, only for Neo to roll over her and kick her back to the ground. Neo flips around Ruby as she gets up, throwing a kick that Ruby blocks, and making a spin kick that hits Ruby's face, making her stumble back.

Ruby stops at the edge of the ship, narrowly avoiding a Gryphon that flies by her as she looks back to Roman and Neo.

"But why?! What do you get out of it?! She asks.

"You're asking the wrong questions, red. It's not what I have to gain. It's that I can't afford to lose!" Roman replies.

Ruby runs at him, but Roman ducks as Neo jumps over him and kicks Ruby back. Ruby runs at them again, but Neo jumps on her scythe, flipping over it before latching the hook of her umbrella onto it. She pulls it down, under, and around Ruby, making her lose her sniper-scythe as she is flipped into the air, and then Neo spins around before kicking her from behind towards Roman. Roman bounces his cane off the ship and into Ruby before grabbing it and spinning the barrel around his back, and then fires off a shot that hits Ruby. Ruby gets sent flying, but just manages to grab her scythe, which is impaled into the ship, as she hangs over the edge of the airship. She looks down at the numerous Gryphons flying under her before looking back up at Roman.

"I may be a gambling man, but even I know there's some bets you just don't take," he says before Neo starts walking up to Ruby, the sword in her umbrella jutting out of it, scraping against the ship before she points it at Ruby. "Like it or not, the people that hired me are going to change the world," Roman continues while Ruby kicks a Nevermore away that tries to attack her. "You can't stop 'em. I can't stop 'em. You know the old saying, if you can't beat 'em-," Roman says until Ruby reaches up, pushing a button on Neo's umbrella, making it open up and pull her with the wind off of the ship and into the Gryphon infested skies. "Neo!" he shouts.

Ruby gets back on the airship, kneeling in front of Roman, "I don't care what you say. We will stop them. And I will stop you…BET ON THAT!" Ruby yells before racing towards Roman.

However, Roman aims his cane and fires off a shot in slow motion, then quickly moving his cane around for the hook to grab the shot, and in normal motion, swing the blast in a wide arc. The blast knocks Ruby back and then Roman hits her upwards with his cane before firing it point blank at her chest, sending her flying back onto the ground.

"You've got spirit, red, but this is the real world!" Roman says as he swings his cane at her, hitting her back down. "The real world is cold!" he says as he hits Ruby with his cane again. "The real world doesn't care about spirit!" he adds as he's about to swing his cane again, but Ruby kicks his leg, making him jump back. Ruby painfully walks up to him as he stands up. "You want to be a hero? Then play the part and die like every other huntsmen in history!" Roman says before knocking Ruby back onto the ground. "As for me, I'll do what I do best: lie, steal, cheat, and SURVIVE-," Roman yells until suddenly a large Gryphon grabs him with its beak and swallows him whole.

The large Gryphon reels on its hind legs, roaring before landing back down and roaring at Ruby, the roar pushing her back. Ruby then runs at the Grimm, with it running at her. Ruby jump up and kicks the large Grimm in the face, making it crash into the cockpit of the airship in a fiery explosion as she lands back down. However, the airship shakes and shuts down because the controls got destroyed. Ruby stumbles around, but looks ahead of her to see her sniper-scythe still impaled into the ship. Ruby smiles and runs to it as explosions occur all over the ship, and it slowly rolls over. She runs along the side until she grabs her scythe and jumps off of the ship, plummeting to the surface. While in the air, Ruby aims her weapon under her and starts firing off a few shot to slow her decent until she safely lands on top of a building in the city. She looks up to see the ship begin to slowly fall down towards another part of the city.

Back in the city, Glynda sends out several purple blasts that take out four Creeps, while Qrow makes a downward slash at one AK-200, makes another slash at a second one, and then fires off his guns at a third. Meanwhile, Cardin Winchester swings his mace around to take out an Ursa before he sees two AK-200s aim their rifles at him. Suddenly, a gunshot rings out, shooting off the head of one robot and then a second shot takes off the head of the second one, leaving Cardin with his mouth wide opened. In some smoke nearby, Ironwood is reloading his magnum before he steps out of the smoke. As he steps out, his clothes are revealed to be damaged, showing that his whole right arm, torso, and leg are replaced with prosthetic replacements, probably old injuries. Ironwood fires off one shot, causing an explosion to take out a few AK-200s, then shoots another one, making it crash into another group, exploding at destroying them all. He then aims the gun behind him, firing at another group of robots, destroying them in a big explosion, before aiming his gun back around and shooting another group to smithereens, before aiming it behind his head to shoot at one AK-220 trying to jump kick him. He turns around to shoot down one more that tries to punch him, and then flicks his magnum around to hold the barrel in his hand and strike at another robot, breaking it in half. After that, he looks to his allies.

"This area's secure. We need to-," Ironwood begins before Qrow gets an angry look on his face and activates the gears in his sword. The blade segments apart and bends into a curved, jagged blade, while the handle flexes around the hilt and extends into a slightly angled pole, turning his sword into a scythe. Qrow swings his scythe around, stabbing the blade into the ground. "Qrow! This isn't my doing!" Ironwood tries to reason with him.

However, Qrow runs towards him, with the blade of his scythe scrapping against the ground. Ironwood holds his gun by its barrel, ready to fight. However, Qrow jumps into the air, and in slow motion, is actually moving AROUND Ironwood's left. Ironwood looks back to see a Gryphon about to pounce on him. Even in slow motion, Qrow quickly slashes downwards with his scythe, slicing the Grimm in half, and then lands on the ground in normal motion.

Qrow grunts and looks back at Ironwood, "You idiot. I know you didn't do this," he says, smiling at him. Ironwood rests his head in his left hand and sighs while Glynda walks up to him, placing a supportive hand on his left shoulder. "So what now General?" Qrow asks.

Ironwood holds his hands behind his back while Glynda crosses her arms, "Someone's done the impossible and gained control of MY machines. And that enormous Grimm seems to be fixated on the school. Glynda, form with the local huntsmen and establish a safe zone here in Vale. We need to evacuate Beacon. Qrow, I'm leaving that to you and my men. I still need to get to my ship," Ironwood says.

Suddenly, they look up to the sky to see Ironwood's ship falling and crashing somewhere in another part of the city.

Qrow rubs his head, "Well, it won't be much of a walk," he jokes.

They look around them to see the damaged robots shut down around them. Back at the school, another heavily armored Atlesian Paladin appears and starts running towards the students. However, the mech then shuts down and falls, sliding across the ground before stopping in front of them.

"Hm, that went better than expected," Sun notes as he looks at Weiss, who is still hunched over in exhaustion.

"Weiss!" They all look to see Yang running up to them. "You're okay! Have you heard from Ruby?" she asks, but Weiss shakes her head. "What about Blake?" she asks again.

Weiss points behind her, "She went after an Alpha…and some members of the White Fang," she answers.

"You look for Ruby. I'll meet up with Blake," Yang says and leaves while Weiss gives her a weak thumbs up.

Back in the city, Khazhak continues his fight with the hordes of Grimm.

"LIGHTNING BREAKER!" he shouts, slamming his greatsword onto the skull of a Death Stalker, killing it before jumping back as another one attempts to pierce him with its stinger. Khazhak lands away from them, breathing heavily from the endless fighting. "I've never fought this long against this many Grimm by myself before. I…need to end this quickly and get to the others," he says, noticing his aura is getting low.

Khazhak then runs at the second Death Stalker, jumping over its left pincer and cutting it off by its arm. Khazhak then jumps and flips over the large Grimm before firing his sword guns at the joint between the stinger and the tail, making it fall off and stab the Death Stalker's head. He falls down and slams his fist on the stinger, burying it deep into the Grimm's skull, killing it. Khazhak jumps back as the third Death Stalker comes at him. However, he looks back to see a few Beowolves running at him. He swings his swords around, decapitating one while slicing through another. He then stabs another one in the chest with his right sword, and fires his left sword at a fourth Beowolf running at him. But then, the third Death Stalker comes up from behind him and uses its left pincer to grab his left arm and squeezes its pincer…cutting off Khazhak's left arm up past his shoulder, in slow motion. In normal motion, Khazhak screams in agony, but then another Beowolf swings its right claw at his face, hitting him and knocking him away onto the ground. Blood pours from the wounds as he slowly looks up, showing three new claw marks on the left side of his face going from his jaw to his eye, to see the Grimm around him slowly closing in, ready to finish off their prey.

" _No…This can't be the end. There's still so much I have to do. I still have my comrades to protect…Team KEPL, Team RWBY…Ruby,"_ Khazhak thinks to himself as he gets up on his hand and knees, his right sword still in his remaining hand. He starts seeing images of his time at Beacon, fighting alongside his team, the food fight with Teams RWBY and JNPR, dancing with Ruby at the school dance, going to Mountain Glenn with his comrades, and being with his friends, but most of all being with Ruby. Khazhak then gets a serious look in his eye. _"No…I won't die here. Not yet…I will NOT die!"_ Khazhak thinks before slowly rising to his feet. "Get out of my way…Get out of my way…I said…GET OUT OF MY WAAAYYYYY!" Khazhak screams as suddenly, blue lightning surges around him before exploding around him and then upwards into the sky.

In the sky, the massive amount of lightning from his semblance takes the form of a large, winged blue dragon, roaring an incredibly loud roar.

…

 **"YES…The time for the awakening…has come…"**

…

In the city, Qrow's group look up in awe at the sight.

"What in the world is that?!" Glynda asks as she continues to look on.

At the school, the students look to the city as they watch the mysterious dragon appear above it.

"Now what's going on?! Weiss shouts.

"I think that's Khazhak!" Reaper replies.

"WHAT?!" Everyone besides Reaper and Lloyd yell in surprise.

Near the school, Ruby looks on at the sight behind her, "A blue dragon…Is that you, Khazhak?" Ruby mutters with worry.

On one building in the city, Voshkie'ahk watches as well, "So, you've finally unlocked it, haven't you big brother…You've finally unlocked the Dragon Spirit…" she says.

Back with Khazhak, the blue dragon falls back down and the lightning dissipates somewhat, leaving only some lighting flowing around him. The lightning seals up his wounds, stopping the bleeding, and somehow his aura and semblance have been restored. His eyes glow bright blue as he eyes the Grimm that begin charging at him. Khazhak readies his right sword, lightning surging around it more than usual, as he prepares to use his new technique.

"EXPLOSIVE THUNDER DRAGON WAVE!" Khazhak shouts as he slams his sword onto the ground, releasing a huge burst of blue lightning hurtling towards the Grimm.

The Grimm instantly become consume in the blast, and a moment later, the lightning dissipates, leaving nothing left of them. Khazhak's power calms down, and he breathes heavily as he looks on to see that the street is finally clear of Grimm. Khazhak looks to his sword, seeing cracks all over the surface of the blade; his new power obviously being more than the blade can handle now. Khazhak retracts the blade and holsters it on his left hip before reaching over to his left side, looking at where his left arm once was, and where burnt sealed flesh wounds remain. Khazhak then walks over to where his left arm is, but only grabs his left sword. He places it on the ground and uses his right arm to reload it before taking it in his right hand.

"I gotta get to the school," he mutters before he looks back at his discarded arm one more time, and then takes off running towards the school.

Meanwhile, Ozpin, Pyrrha, and Jaune exit the elevator into the vault beneath the school and start running to Amber's chamber.

"What is this place?" Jaune asks as they keep running.

"It's…a type of vault," Pyrrha answers.

"You've…been here before?" Jaune asks again, but Pyrrha looks away without answering him. "What would this school need to…hide?" Jaune says. A moment later, Jaune stops as they enter Amber's chamber. "What?" he asks as Ozpin runs to the computers and Pyrrha stops behind him and looks to Jaune. "Who…" he begins.

"Jaune-," Pyrrha begins.

"Pyrrha, get to the pods," Ozpin interrupts her, pointing to the second pod that's empty. Pyrrha looks to Jaune before moving and then Ozpin looks at Jaune. "Mr. Arc, if you'd like to help, you can stand guard here," Ozpin tells him.

Jaune hesitates for a moment before turning around and taking a defensive stance.

Pyrrha walks up to the pod, "What do we do now?" she asks as Ozpin works on one of the computer screens.

Ozpin sighs, "WE…do nothing," he responds as he types on the screen and then Pyrrha's pod opens up. "YOU, Miss Nikos, have a choice to make," he says.

Pyrrha looks to the pod and then to Jaune, whose back is still turned to her, while she thinks. Wiping a tear from her eye, Pyrrha decides to enter the pod with a sad expression and waits as the pod door closes.

Back with Blake, who's still fighting with Adam…

"This could've been OUR day! Can't you see that?!" Adam yells at Blake, who remains on the ground.

"I never wanted THIS! I wanted equality. I wanted PEACE!" Blake says as she gets on her knees, turning her sword into pistol form.

She fires two shots at Adam, but he unsheathes his sword halfway from its sheath, blocking the bullets as the blade and the red streaks in his hair glow bright red.

"What you WANT is IMPOSSIBLE!" Adam retorts as he sheathes his sword, the red glow disappearing, and smacks Blake in the face to the ground. "But I understand, because all I want…is you, Blake," he says as Blake tries to use her weapon, but he kicks it out of her hands, knocking her onto her back on the ground. "And as I set out upon this world to deliver the JUSTICE mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love," he says as he kneels to her.

"Blake!" they hear outside and look to see Yang as she punches a White Fang member away. "Blake! Where are you?!" Yang yells as she looks for Blake.

Adam looks at Blake, seeing the horrified look on her face, "Starting with HER," Adam says as he looks to Yang, while the blonde looks around for Blake.

Back in the courtyard, Porphyrius finally reunites with the group, "Hey, guys!" he yells as he runs to them.

"Porphyrius! Are you okay?" Reaper asks.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," he replies and then looks around. "Where's Yang?" he asks.

"She went looking for Blake, but they haven't come back yet," Lloyd responds.

"WHAT?! Alright, Lloyd, come with me! Let's go find them!" Porphyrius shouts as he and Lloyd race back around the school to find the two girls.

Back in the vault, Ozpin continues to type on the screen, glancing back as he feels a slight rumble above him before looking back to his work. He then looks to Pyrrha.

"Are you ready?" he asks, to which she nods. "I…I need to hear you say it," he implores her.

"Yes," she replies.

"Thank you Miss Nikos," Ozpin says and finishes up some typing, making Amber's pod rise up.

Amber's eyes flutter open a bit as her aura glows orange around her body. The three tubes hooked up to her pod start to glow the same color, with the color rising on them before falling down on a second set of tubes hooked up to Pyrrha's pod. Pyrrha's body starts to glow as Amber's aura is transferred to her, and starts screaming and shaking in pain.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune yells as he turns to her.

Jaune runs to her and looks around, unsure of what to do.

Ozpin looks on, "I'm…so sorry," he apologizes.

Amber's eyes slowly open up…just in time for an arrow to pierce through the pod's glass…and impale her chest. Ozpin and Jaune look back to see Cinder standing away from them, bow in her hand.

Above the vault, Adam stabs Blake in her torso, cutting right through her aura. Blake screams in pain, which gets Yang's attention.

"Huh?" Yang says as she looks into the cafeteria where they are. Adam removes his sword and looks at Yang. "Get AWAY from her!" Yang angrily shouts.

"Go…please," Blake weakly pleads with her as Adam sheathes his sword.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!" Yang screams, eyes red, her body exploding from her semblance, as she fires her weapons behind her, propelling her straight at Adam with her right fist cocked back.

However…Adam quickly unsheathes and swings his blade as she nears him, and in slow motion…her right arm, up to her mid forearm…falls off in mid-air.

Back in the vault, Amber dies from the arrow in her chest, and all the torches in the vault shut off as Ozpin and Jaune stare back at Cinder.

Up top, in slow motion, Yang spins in the air as she falls to the ground, her injury glowing yellow from her aura trying to heal it, and hits the ground while unconscious.

Back in the vault, the aura transfer process stops with Amber's death, with her aura, and her powers, reverting back to her body. Her Fall maiden power then shoots out of her body, breaking the glass, and goes into Cinder's body. She hovers in the air, her eyes glowing, the power encircling her as the two halves become whole inside her. Cinder Fall has now become the new Fall maiden. Pyrrha bangs on the glass of her pod while Jaune runs at Cinder, pulling his sword back to strike.

"Stay back!" Ozpin shouts, reaching out to him.

Jaune is about to strike, but then gets knocked back as Cinder releases her new powers.

"JAUNE!" Pyrrha shouts before pushing the door on her pod off towards Cinder, who knocks it away.

Pyrrha grabs her weapons and runs at Cinder, but Ozpin uses his left arm to stop her.

"Take Jaune and get out of here. Find Glynda, Ironwood, Qrow. Bring them here right away! The tower cannot fall," he orders her as he looks back to Cinder.

"But I can help," Pyrrha says.

Ozpin looks back at her, "…You'll only get in the way," he says.

Pyrrha looks away and then runs to Jaune as Cinder lowers back to the ground. Pyrrha grabs Jaune and they run right by Cinder, who watches and lets them escape before looking back to Ozpin.

Back up top, Adam slowly walks closer to Yang's unconscious form, brandishing his red blade. However, Blake quickly jumps and lands on the ground in front of her, trying to protect Yang as she looks back at Adam with a look of complete hatred.

"Why must you hurt me Blake?" Adam asks as he looks down, trying to look hurt, but Blake makes no response and keeps her hateful look at him.

Adam raises his sword and swings it at Blake, but suddenly another blade appears and blocks his attack. Adam looks right to see Porphyrius, who pushes his blade back and kicks him away, making him slide back as he sheathes his sword. Lloyd steps in between him and Porphyrius, who looks at Blake.

"You two al-," Porphyrius begins but then gasps as he sees Yang passed out on the ground, and missing her right arm. One intense emotion engulfs Porphyrius then: pure, unbridled, ANGER. "What did you do?" Porphyrius mutters as he turns around and walks around Lloyd. "You hurt Yang…" Porphyrius begins as Blake notices his hair moving, allowing her to see a purplish flame erupt from the emblem on his eyepatch. "You hurt my precious Yang…You…YOU…YOU BASTAAAARRRDDD!" Porphyrius screams as he unleashes an unknown power around them.

Suddenly, everyone except for Porphyrius falls to the ground, and everything around them flattens and gets crushed by this unknown power.

" _What's wrong with Porphyrius?! And why do I suddenly feel so heavy? It's like I'm being crushed by a bullhead airship,"_ Blake mentally notes as she struggles and fails to get up.

Porphyrius continues to scream as he aims his rifles at Adam, who fails to get back on his feet, while purplish energy flows around his rifles.

"Porphyrius! You can't lose control again! Don't let what happened last time happen here!" Lloyd shouts as he uses his strength to get to one knee.

"DARK…VOID…COLLAPSE!" Porphyrius shouts as he fires off a massive blast of dark, purplish energy at Adam, who falls flat on the ground as the attack hits, and makes the ground around him break and fall apart.

Adam screams in pain, blood starting to leak from his nose as the force knocks him out cold.

"PORPHYRIUS!" Lloyd shouts as he slowly gets on his feet and walks to Porphyrius before chopping him in the back of his neck.

The strike knocks out Porphyrius, making his power dissipate as he falls to the ground, with Lloyd falling to his hands and knees behind him. Lloyd catches his breath and then picks up Porphyrius' body before walking over to Blake and Yang.

"Lloyd…what was that?" Blake asks as she begins to get up.

"That…was the true form of Porphyrius' semblance. But never mind about that, we need to get you guys out of here," he says and picks up Yang in his left arm while he carries Porphyrius in his right arm. "Let's go," he says and they run out of there as Blake looks to Adam's unconscious form on the ground. _"Brother's not going to like this…"_

Back down in the vault…

"This whole time…Right beneath our feet…She was right about you…" Cinder begins as Ozpin flips his cane around to wield it like a sword. "…Such ARROGANCE," Cinder says as the two stare at each other and prepare to fight.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Khazhak unleashes a power deep within him, and Porphyrius does something he wasn't supposed to. Things aren't looking good for the good guys right now, so who knows what will happen in the next chapter. One thing I will tell you is that Khazhak makes a surprising move in the next chapter, and it involves Ruby. Will Khazhak and his allies survive? Who else will fall in this battle? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	53. Chapter 48: A New Mission

**Here we are at Chapter 48. It's the volume 3 finale, and things are coming to a head, for now. Let's see how things end for Team KEPL in Vale. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 48. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 48: A New Mission**

 _…At the Beacon landing docks…_

At Beacon, everyone gathers at the docks to evacuate the school.

"That's it! Everybody on board! This is a mandatory evacuation!" Port instructs them.

"A safe zone has been established in Vale! Please, remain calm and listen to Atlas personnel," Oobleck adds as people start to board the ships.

Meanwhile, Weiss looks at the scene in front of her in horror, a hand over her mouth. Zwei then barks, looking behind her, and she, Reaper, Lloyd, and Sun look back to see Ruby running up to them.

"Ruby!" Weiss says as she holds her hands with Ruby's, happy to see her leader okay.

"Oh, I found you," Ruby replies.

"Ruby, where have you-," Weiss begins.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. What's going on?" Ruby asks. Weiss just looks down in sorrow though. "Weiss, what is it?" Ruby asks.

Weiss steps out of the way and what Ruby sees in front of her shocks her. She sees Ren and Nora kneeled on the ground, in pain, but alive. Reaper is standing behind, perfectly fine, along with Lloyd. She then sees Blake, with bandages wrapped around her lower torso, but alive. She then sees Porphyrius unconscious, but alive next to them But what shocks her most…is seeing her sister Yang, unconscious and missing her right arm, with only a bloodied, bandaged stump left in its place. Blake reaches with her left hand to hold Yang's as she cries.

"I'm sorry…" Blake cries as Ruby reaches for them, a sad look on her face. "I'm so sorry," Blake cries again.

"Yang…" Ruby mutters.

"Ruby!" Ruby hears behind her and turns to see Khazhak running to them.

"Khazhak-," Ruby then gasps as she sees his scarred face and his missing left arm, seeing a burnt flesh-wound left in its place. "Khazhak! What happened to you?! You're arm-," she begins.

"Is not important right now," he interrupts her as he approaches them. "I used my semblance to seal up my wounds. I'll live," Khazhak says and then looks to the injured, focusing on Yang as he goes wide-eyed. "Yang…" he mutters and then looks to Porphyrius. "He lost control again, didn't he?" Khazhak asks Lloyd, who slowly nods.

"Hey…" Sun walks up to them. "They're gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale," Sun says.

"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing," Nora says as she tries to get up, but fails as she groans and holds her sides in pain.

"What?!" Ruby shouts.

"Look guys, that giant Grimm keeps circling the school. Even the White Fang are pulling out!" Sun notes as he points to the school tower behind them. "We all have to go. NOW!" he yells.

"We're not…leaving," Ren starts as he tries to get up, but grunts in pain as he falls back to the ground.

Everyone looks around, not wanting to leave their friends behind. Ruby thinks for a moment before coming to a decision.

"I'll find them…I'll find them and I'll bring them back," Ruby says.

"No…" Weiss begins as she walks up to her. "WE will find them. Watch after Blake and Yang," Weiss says as she looks to the others.

"I'm coming with you," Khazhak says as he steps up to them.

"What?! Khazhak, no, you can't! You're hurt-," Ruby begins.

"No arguments!" Khazhak yells, stopping her. "I may not be at my best, but I can still fight," Khazhak says and then looks to Reaper and Lloyd. "Reaper, Lloyd, stay here and look after the others. Some Grimm may try to attack them as they evacuate. I need you to protect them and get them out of here. That's an ORDER," Khazhak orders them, to which they reluctantly agree.

Khazhak turns back to Ruby and Weiss, who nod to him.

"We'll be back," Weiss says and the three run back to the school.

Sun groans, "You'd better be!...Idiots," Sun mutters the last part as he shakes his head.

As they near the outside of the tower, Ruby, Weiss, and Khazhak continue running until Weiss gets a call on her scroll.

"It's Jaune!" she begins as she answers the call. "Where are you?!" she asks.

Jaune's locker had apparently crash landed somewhere in Vale before Jaune called her on his scroll.

"Weiss! Please, you have to stop her!" he pleads.

"What? She asks.

"PYRRHA! She's going after that woman, at the top of the tower. She doesn't stand a chance!" he yells as the three look up to the tower.

"Jaune, what are you talking about?! Where are you?!" Weiss asks.

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!" he yells. "…Please, you have to save Pyrrha," he pleads.

"We will. Are you okay?" she asks.

But Jaune just screams, throwing his scroll to the ground and falling on his hands and knees.

"Please," he cries.

"Jaune? Jaune!" Weiss yells, but stops as the ground rumbles around them.

They look up to see the Grimm Dragon circle around the tower, sending out more black drops of goo that hit the ground and spawn more Grimm, while it lands on one side of the tower and roars. Ruby then takes out her sniper scythe.

"I have a plan," she says.

Weiss puts her scroll away and takes out her rapier, "You always do," she says.

"I got your back, girls," Khazhak adds as he readies his sword.

The three then run forward towards the Grimm as they get closer to the tower. Meanwhile, Cinder reaches the top and walks through some smoke until she stops in front of a window overlooking a part of Vale. The Grimm Dragon climbs up on the side of the tower, reaching the top as his right eyes meet Cinder's and roars.

"Ssshh, this is your home now," Cinder comforts it.

The Grimm Dragon looks at her and screeches a little bit. Cinder steps back a few steps and raises her right hand, conjuring up some fire on her palm. She then looks back as she hears some noise behind her, losing her flame. The elevator dings and the doors open up, with Pyrrha's sword suddenly spinning out of it towards Cinder. In slow motion, Cinder moves her head right, smiling, as the sword flies by her. In normal motion, Pyrrha's shield, with Pyrrha's feet on the other side of it, rushes at Cinder, who blocks the attack. Pyrrha flips back away from her, using her semblance to retract her sword and shield back to her, and takes up her fighting stance. Pyrrha eyes Cinder, who hovers in the air in front of her, with a little flame being emitted from the ground under her feet. Cinder smiles, her eyes glowing from the Fall maiden's power, throws a fire slash at Pyrrha before shooting a fire blast next. Pyrrha rolls under the attacks, then spins around another fire blast in slow motion, before turning back to Cinder in normal motion. Cinder shoots out another fire blast, which Pyrrha blocks with her shield. Pyrrha jumps at Cinder while blocking the fire, and when she gets close, swings her sword at her.

However, Cinder grabs the sword with her left hand, then places her right palm on Pyrrha's stomach, and fires another blast, sending Pyrrha into a wall behind her. Pyrrha loses her sword and shield as she falls, but quickly gets back up to see Cinder shooting fire behind her as she flies towards Pyrrha. Pyrrha grabs her and when she gets close, lands her feet on the wall behind her, and the pushes off of it. She flips over Cinder, using the momentum to throw Cinder away from her onto the ground. However, Cinder backflips back onto her feet, and looks only to see Pyrrha rams her stomach with her shield, pushing her back. Pyrrha spins around and swings her sword at her, but Cinder blocks them with her hands and her powers. Pyrrha makes another strike, but Cinder backflips, sending out an upward blast of fire at her. The attack knocks Pyrrha into the air, but in mid-air, Pyrrha aims her sword and throws it at Cinder. Cinder tries to block it, but it knocks her right hand back, and then Pyrrha's thrown shield knocks her left hand back. Pyrrha tackles her, with their arms wrapped around each other, and they land on the ground in a pillow of smoke. As the smoke clears, Pyrrha is seen with her left arm around Cinder's neck, and her right arm holding her sword, with the blade being held by Cinder's hands as they stand up. The Grimm Dragon outside then flies off while Cinder uses her power to start burning through Pyrrha's sword, making it start to bend. They both then look back, with Cinder smiling, to see the Grimm Dragon flying straight at the tower. In slow motion, Cinder breaks Pyrrha's sword into three pieces and then elbows her stomach as the Grimm Dragon flies by them. In normal motion, Cinder's attack releases a shockwave that sends Pyrrha flying back, and destroys the top of the tower, with the pieces falling to the ground below.

Pyrrha shakes her head as she sits up and starts to crawl on the ground to her shield while Cinder hovers over the ground in front of her. Pyrrha looks around, seeing the metal parts of the tower around her. Using her semblance, Pyrrha makes one metal piece fly over to and crash into Cinder. Pyrrha makes a dash for her shield and rolls back onto her feet. Cinder explodes out of some rubble and sends out two fire blasts that Pyrrha rolls around before blocking a third blast with her shield, but gets knocked back and is consumed in the fire. Cinder smirks, but then Pyrrha throws her shield through the fire at her, but Cinder knocks it away with her left hand. But then, Cinder gets a surprised face as she sees several large gears floating around her, thanks to Pyrrha's semblance. Pyrrha waves her right hand, and her shield hits Cinder's feet from behind before a large gear strikes her torso, smashing her into the ground. Pyrrha retracts her shield to her and makes the other gears move closer to Cinder. She then makes them all converge on Cinder, trying to crush her. However, Cinder makes a huge explosion that pushes them back. One gear flies at Pyrrha, who blocks it with her shield, but gets sent back into a piece of a wall, with her aura being depleted.

Back down on the ground, Weiss swings her sword at one Grimm while Khazhak shoots at another, and Ruby swings her scythe at a third.

Ruby pulls her scythe out of the ground, "We gotta hurry!" she yells.

"Weiss! The tower!" Khazhak nods to the tower.

Weiss looks at it and sends a glyph to its side, creating a row of glyphs going all the way to the top.

"You can do this," Weiss says to Ruby.

Ruby and Khazhak run to the tower, with Ruby using her semblance while Khazhak fires his sword gun to jump to the side, and they begin running along the side of the tower to get to the top. Back at the top of the tower, Cinder readies her bow and aims an arrow at Pyrrha. Pyrrha gets back up, spins around and throws her shield at her while Cinder fires her arrow. The two projectiles collide in mid-air, but in slow motion, the arrow breaks apart around the shield before reforming behind it, and in normal motion, impales Pyrrha in her right ankle. Pyrrha screams in pain as she falls to the ground from the injury. She tries to get up, but fails as the arrow breaks and falls back onto the ground.

"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours," Cinder begins as she walks around Pyrrha and stands in front of her. Cinder kneels down and cups Pyrrha's chin in her right hand, making her look into her eyes. "But take comfort in knowing, that I will use it in ways you could never have imagined," Cinder says, smirking at her.

Pyrrha moves her chin out of Cinder's hand, "Do you believe in destiny?" she defiantly asks.

Cinder narrows her eyes, "Yes," she answers before she stands and conjures up her bow and arrow, aiming it at Pyrrha.

Ruby and Khazhak finally make it and jump up to land at the top of the tower…But they are too late as they watch Cinder fire her arrow, and it impales Pyrrha's chest. Ruby and Khazhak look on in horror.

"No…" Khazhak mutters, wide-eyed.

Pyrrha gasps for air as Cinder walks up to her, and Pyrrha leans forward as Cinder catches her head in her left hand, dying. Using her power, Cinder then incinerates Pyrrha's body, and it disintegrates into ashes that fly away with the wind, leaving only Pyrrha's headdress behind as it falls to the ground. Khazhak looks on in horror, but then turns to Ruby. Ruby looks on before wrapping her arms around herself, and then…

"PYRRHA!" Ruby screams as suddenly, bright white energy erupts from her EYES that engulfs the whole area.

The Grimm Dragon roars as it gets consumed by the white energy.

"WHAT?!" Cinder shouts, finally losing her cool as she too is engulfed in the white energy.

"RUBY!" Khazhak shouts as he reaches for her before being consumed by the white energy as well, and then everything goes completely white.

… _Sometime later, in Patch…_

Ruby is seen sleeping in a bed, wearing a long sleeved black buttoned up pajama shirt with small, pick spots and pink edging on it, as well as pajama pants to match. The room she is in is not her dorm room back at Beacon. There are two beds, the one she is on has red pillows, while the other one has yellow pillows. Around the room are various pictures of landscapes and other things, a set of shelves with wooden Grimm figurines on top, and a desk with a lamp in between the two beds. Ruby is no longer at Beacon. She is back at Patch, her home. Ruby's eyes slowly open up and she moves her head to see an adult man sitting in a chair next to her bed, his head slumped over as he sleeps. The man has blonde hair with two small strands sticking out from the top, blue eyes, a soul patch and a small stubble along his jawline, along with a tattoo on his right arm. He is wearing brown cargo shorts with a dark brown belt, black shoes, a red bandana on his left arm, and a brown leather vest over a tan dress shirt with the right sleeve cut off. He also has on a metal spaulder, leather vambrace, and a brown fingerless glove, all on his right arm. This man is Taiyang Xiao Long, Ruby and Yang's father. Ruby sits up in her bed and groans a little bit, which wakes up Taiyang.

"Ruby!" Taiyang happily says as he gets up and kneels next to her bed. "You're awake!" he says.

Ruby groans a little more, "What happened?" she weakly asks, devoid of most of her strength.

"Your Uncle Qrow found you, unconscious. He got you out of there, though. He brought you home safe," Taiyang explains.

Ruby looks down and remembers something, "Wait, Yang! Is she alright?!" Ruby asks, concerned for her sister.

"Uh…" Taiyang looks down, hesitating. "She's uh…She's gonna be alright. I think she's just…I think it's just going to take some time…for her to get used to things," he says, making Ruby look down. "She's too strong to let this stop her," he says, trying to comfort Ruby as he wipes his eyes. "I'm just glad to have my girls back at home," he says.

"What happened to the school?! And Vale?! Were they able to clear out the Grimm?" Ruby asks.

"Things at Vale are under control, but the school…it's…It's not that simple. That thing, whatever it is, doesn't seem to be dead. Don't get me wrong, you did a number on it, but it's not disappearing. It's…kind of…frozen. I know that doesn't sound too bad, but it keeps attracting more Grimm to the school," Taiyang explains.

"…I did what?" Ruby asks, confused.

"Hm?" Taiyang hums.

"You said I did a number on it. What do you mean?" she asks.

"…I…Look, that's not important right now. We can talk about it later. Things are just…kind of a mess," Taiyang replies.

"It's always a mess," they hear and look behind Taiyang to see Qrow, taking a big swig of his flask. "Mind if we have a minute?" Qrow asks Taiyang after he finishes his drink.

"What, I can't stay here?" Taiyang responds, a little peeved at the notion.

"Tai…Please," Qrow pleads with him.

Taiyang decides to allow it and gets up, giving Ruby a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm glad you're alright," he says and turns to walk away but then turns back to Ruby. "I'll go make us some tea," he says and leaves while giving Qrow a slightly angry look.

Qrow pulls up a chair and sits next to Ruby's bed, "So, how you feeling?" he asks.

"Um, uh…I kind of hurt all over," she answers.

Qrow chuckles, "That makes sense, after what you did," Qrow says, crossing his arms.

"You guys keep saying that. That I did something. What are you talking about?" she asks, getting a little aggravated.

Qrow leans forward, "What's the last thing you remember?" he asks.

"…Khazhak and I-," Ruby begins, but gasps. "Khazhak! Is he okay?" she asks, worried about her friend.

"Khazhak's fine. He helped me get you out of there. His teammates helped with the evacuation effort and got to safety. They're all fine," Qrow calms her worries. "Keep going," he implores her.

"Khazhak and I ran up the side of the tower, and when we got to the top, I-," Ruby says, but then gasps again. "Pyrrha! Is she…" she asks.

Qrow looks down, "She's gone…" he woefully answers.

Ruby starts to cry, "We-we…We got to the top, and I saw Pyrrha…and Cinder…And then everything went white," she says, clenching her fingers around her bed sheets as her tears fall on them.

"Anything else?" Qrow inquires.

Ruby wipes her eyes, "I remember…my head hurting," she says.

Qrow looks down before looking back at her, "The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?" Qrow asks.

"U-uh I don't know. I think it was something about-," Ruby begins.

"Silver eyes," Qrow interrupts her as she looks at him. "That's an extremely rare trait," he notes.

"So?" Ruby shrugs her shoulders.

"…You're special, Ruby. And not in the 'Daddy loves his special angel' kind of way. You're special the same way your mom was," Qrow says, but that leaves Ruby confused. "Remnant's full of legends and stories. Some of them true, some made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before huntsmen, before kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered, were AFRAID of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single LOOK from one of these fighters could strike a Grimm down. Heh, it's a ridiculous story," Qrow explains.

"But, you think that I might be…" Ruby begins to ask.

"Heh, well, a giant monster's currently frozen on top of Beacon tower, and you're here, safe in bed," Qrow says as he stands up, walking to a window of Ruby's room.

"Wait…Wait, how did you know what Ozpin said to me? The night we met?" she asks.

Qrow hangs his head a little bit, "…All those missions I go on. All the times I'm away in some far off place. It's been for Ozpin, but he's missing now…Something's been set in motion, and with Oz gone, I'll have to pick up where he left off," he confesses.

"Then what can I do?" Ruby asks, making Qrow look to her. "If I'm so special, then I can help. Right?" she asks.

Qrow turns to her and sighs, "You really want to help? Get some rest. You're in no condition to go anywhere right now," he says and begins to leave the room, but stops and looks back to her. "Besides, our enemies' trail leads all the way to Haven. That be quite a trip for a pipsqueak like you," he says, winking at her. "Catch you later, kiddo," he says and leaves her room.

Ruby looks out the window and then to a mirror in front of her bed, thinking. Meanwhile, in another room, Yang sits in bed, wearing black short shorts and a dull yellow shirt. One of her shotgun gauntlets rests on a desk to her left as she looks out the window. A moment later, Ruby opens the door and enters the room.

"Yang?" Ruby says, hoping she'll respond.

When she doesn't, she turns to leave, but Yang stops her.

"Ruby," she dully says, making Ruby stop and look back at her, while Yang looks at her with tears forming in her eyes.

Ruby runs to her and wraps her arms around Yang's shoulders, "I'm so glad you're okay," Ruby cries.

Yang sheds a tear and opens her eyes, "But I'm not," she bitterly replies.

Ruby releases the hug, holding her right arm as she looks at the bandaged stump that was once Yang's right arm.

"It's all gone. The school…Penny…Pyrrha…and," Yang says as she sadly looks away.

"Yang, where are Weiss and Blake?" Ruby asks.

Yang looks at Ruby, "Weiss' father…came for her," she says.

"What? What do you mean?" Ruby asks.

"No one outside of Vale knows what happened here. Before the tower fell, the last thing people saw was Atlas attacking innocent people and Grimm destroying the city. Everyone's scared. No one knows who to trust. So, Weiss' father came to take her back to Atlas, where he thinks it's safe. She's gone," Yang explains.

"What about-," Ruby begins.

"And Blake RAN!" Yang coldly yells. "Sun saw her go. After we got to the city, she just…RAN," Yang says.

"But why?" Ruby asks.

"I don't know…And I don't care," Yang bitterly replies as she looks away.

"…There has to be a reason she-," Ruby starts.

"No there DOESN'T!" Yang stops her. "Sometimes bad things just happen Ruby," Yang cries, making Ruby hang her head.

"So what do we do now?" Ruby asks.

"…You can do whatever you want. I'm gonna lie here," Yang bitterly replies as she looks at her injury.

"Yang-," Ruby reaches for her.

"Just leave me alone," Yang coldly says, not bothering to look at Ruby.

Ruby begins to walk out, but looks back to Yang, "I love you," she sadly says, but Yang doesn't reply, so she leaves.

Yang just wipes some hair out of the way. However, neither of them know that outside Yang's window, out of their vision, Khazhak is leaning against the wooden wall of their home, listening in on their conversation. Khazhak closes his eyes and clenches his right fist, angry at the divide between the two sisters. A moment later Khazhak leaves as a single fall leaf falls from a tree and lands on the ground.

… _Sometime later, during the night…_

During the night, with all of the occupants in Ruby's home sleeping, a lone figure walks up to the window of Ruby's room. The figure, turning out to be Khazhak, rests his hand on the window as he looks inside, seeing Ruby peacefully sleeping in her bed. He looks for a moment longer before he leaves and walks around the house. As he's walking, he comes upon Porphyrius, who's looking through another window to see Yang sleeping in her bed. Porphyrius' expression is full of sadness as he sees Yang in such a state. Khazhak rests his hand on Porphyrius' shoulder, nodding for him to move. The two leave the home and walk through the forest around the house, until they stop at one point where Reaper and Lloyd are waiting for them.

"Well, this sure as Hell ain't looking good," Lloyd notes.

"Indeed. Some of our comrades have fallen, with the rest scattered and broken. Just as our enemies want them to be," Reaper sadly adds.

"What do we do now, brother?" Lloyd asks Khazhak.

Khazhak closes his eyes, deep in thought, before opening them and looking at his teammates.

"Team KEPL…We need to split up," he declares.

"What do you mean?" Porphyrius asks.

"I know you all saw it. On top of the tower, it was Ruby who unleashed that bright white light, born from a power deep within her. After some time to think, I now know that Ruby may be humanity's last hope against the Grimm. A great trial awaits her at the end of this conflict. But if she faces this trial alone…She will die," Khazhak begins.

"Well, I know we're not giving up. If we fight with her, then she'll be fine. Right?" Lloyd asks.

"No. It is not our place to stand beside her during this final trial…But I believe that only with her teammates by her side, can she prevail. Which is why I have decided that we must bring Team RWBY back together. Only together, can they succeed. Right now, they remain scattered and broken, and we must pick up the pieces. So I am sending you all on your own missions. Reaper…" Khazhak looks to Reaper. "I need you to go to Atlas and watch over Weiss. Her father took her back home, believing her to be safe there. But we all know that if our enemies succeed in their plans, that no place on Remnant will be safe for anyone. Weiss has probably lost her freedom to walk down her own path, away from her father's. You need to guide her back onto the path that SHE chose for herself, and remind her why she chose this path. You decide how you want to handle her," Khazhak says.

Reaper nods to him, "It will be done," he says.

Khazhak then looks to Porphyrius, "Porphyrius, I know you're worried about Yang, but there's nothing you can do for her right now. She needs time. What I need you to do is to track down Blake. She was last seen in Vale, so start there. You're the best tracker on this team, so you'll have the best chance of finding her. Blake said she was done running, but when things went bad, she ran away again. You need to convince her that she needs to STOP running once and for all, and START fighting for the people she cares about. I'll leave the method up to you," Khazhak orders him.

Porphyrius looks back to the house, but then turns and reluctantly nods to Khazhak.

"I'll find her, Khazhak," he says.

Khazhak then turns to Lloyd, "Lloyd, I need you to stay here in Patch and watch over Yang. You can at least relate to her in some aspect of this. Right now, her blazing fire has been reduced to that of a simple lit match. You need to help her regain that fire and remind her of what is important to her. From the looks of things, she has given up, even giving Ruby the cold shoulder. You need to fix that," Khazhak says, but Lloyd looks away. Khazhak walks up to him and places his hand on his shoulder. "Please Lloyd. You have always acted as my shield, but now I need you to be her shield. Please…do this for me…brother," Khazhak says.

Lloyd looks at him wide-eyed from the fact that that was the first time Khazhak has ever addressed him as "brother." Lloyd then nods to him.

"You got it, brother. I'll get her back on her feet," Lloyd says.

Khazhak nods to him and steps back, "Team KEPL, WE are expendable, but the members of Team RWBY are NOT. No matter what, you keep them alive and get them back in the fight. But, I am not asking you to throw your lives away. Meanwhile, I will go with Ruby. Qrow said our enemies' trail leads back to Haven, and I know Ruby will go there to find them. When you get your respective objectives done, head to Haven and try to meet up with us there. We will not be able to communicate with each other for who knows how long, so…This is my final order as leader of Team KEPL: keep the members of Team RWBY alive, and keep yourselves alive as well," Khazhak says and they all nod to him. "Team KEPL, move out," he proclaims and the three nod to him before leaving, going their separate ways and leaving Khazhak alone. Khazhak sighs, and then looks back, "You can come out now…Qrow," he says.

At that point, Qrow walks out from behind one of the trees behind Khazhak, "So, you're gonna try and get the gang back together, huh? You sure it will work?" he asks.

"It has to, otherwise we will all perish. I was listening in on your conversation with Ruby. If she is indeed one of these silver-eyed warriors, then she is humanity's best chance at defeating the Grimm. And I will not allow her to fight this battle alone," Khazhak says as he turns to Qrow.

Qrow walks up to him, "You know, there was another story Ozpin told me about a while back, one that is almost as old as the tale of the silver-eyed warriors. One you may be a part of," Qrow begins as he takes out his flask and takes a swig of it.

"…You mean the story about the human that was born with the power of a dragon. A warrior said to only come once every millennia. My father told me that story once, though I only thought it was a fairytale," Khazhak replies.

"Well whether or not it's true, I still remember when I saw that giant blue dragon shoot up from the city, and you came to mind at that point. You think it's true?" Qrow asks.

"After I unleashed that power, I suddenly felt stronger, like something was released from within me. If I am indeed this ancient warrior, then I will use these new powers to help Ruby. I will fight beside her and help her save humanity. No matter the cost," Khazhak declares.

… _Sometime later, in the winter…_

Snow covers the land as winter moves in. Ruby is seen sneaking out of her house, silently closing the door, with a backpack on her back under her cloak along with her weapon. Ruby turns and begins walking away.

"Hey…" she hears and looks to see Jaune ahead of her, a backpack on his back as well as his sheathed sword on his hip.

"Hey Jaune," Ruby greets him and walks up to him. "Haven's a long way to go," she says.

"I know…But it's the only way we have," he says.

"And you're sure you want to come along?" she asks.

"The journey will be perilous," they look to see Ren and Nora next to Jaune, carrying backpacks with him while Nora rests her hammer on her left shoulder. "And whether we'll find answers at the end is ENTIRELY uncertain," Ren says.

"But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it," Nora adds.

Ruby nods to them, "Then let's get started," she says and they begins to leave.

"Room for one more?" they hear and look to Ruby's left to see Khazhak walking up to them, swords on his hips, and a backpack on his back. "I'm coming with you," he says.

"Khazhak, wait. You're still hurt. You shouldn't be going anywhere, especially to Haven," Ruby says.

"I will be fine. I will NOT just sit by while my friends fight for their lives," Khazhak retorts.

"Where are your teammates? Are they okay with this?" Ruby asks.

"I sent them on their own missions. They have their own objectives right now. But they will be fine, and I am sure I will see them again, in time," Khazhak says as he walks up to Ruby. "Ruby…I swore an oath that I would protect you and keep you safe from suffering…And I failed to uphold that oath. This is my atonement for my mistake," Khazhak says and then kneels to her, lowering his head down, shocking everyone. "Ruby Rose, on this day, I pledge my life to you, and to you alone. Call when you need of me. Ask what you would of me. My sword, my soul, are yours to command. Give me any order and I will obey. From this day forth, I am your eternal servant. From this day forth, my life belongs to you," Khazhak vows as he looks up to Ruby.

Ruby looks at him, even more shocked at his declaration, but then smiles at him. She sits down on her knees and holds his face in her hands.

"Khazhak, I don't need a servant," she says.

"Even so, my oath still stands. All I ask is that you let me join you on your journey," Khazhak replies.

Ruby thinks for a moment, "…Then this is an order. Continue to be my friend and help me," she says, continuing to smile at him.

Khazhak smiles at her, "I will ALWAYS be there for you, little rose," Khazhak says and the two stand up.

"But what are we going to do about your arm?" Jaune asks.

"Don't worry. Like Qrow, I know a lot of people, including a very skilled prosthetic engineer who just so happens to owe me a favor," Khazhak says and then looks at his sword. "I will also need to get a new weapon. Narukami can no longer handle the amount of power I wield with my semblance and new powers. Luckily, I have a plan for that as well," Khazhak notes.

"Alright, then let's go," Ruby says, and the five begin their journey as they walk through the snow-covered forest.

The group travel through the forest of Patch, stopping by her mother's grave for Ruby to give one last prayer to her before they set off on their journey. As Ruby's group continue walking through the forest of Patch, Qrow is seen standing on a cliff, watching over them. On his left, is surprisingly Voshkie'ahk Ryukado who watches the group with him. Qrow has his weapon on his back, but is also holding Ozpin's cane in his right hand. Voshkie'ahk looks at Qrow while he holds up and looks at Ozpin's cane, before lowering it and looking up at the sky. Qrow then jumps off the cliff, only for a crow to take his place as it flies towards Ruby's group. Voshkie'ahk watches over them for one more moment before she turns and walks away…

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 **And that's the chapter, and the volume 3 finale. Beacon is gone, and Team RWBY is divided, but all is not lost. Khazhak has not given up, not only sending out his team to reunite Ruby's, but also making the bold move of becoming her servant. Now the journey to Haven begins, while the members of Team KEPL begin their new mission, to bring Team RWBY back together. What awaits Teams RWBY and KEPL in the future? Until then, please Read and review.**


	54. Chapter 49: A New Storm

**Here we are at Chapter 49, and the start of Volume 4. This is basically like the Ruby character short from the volume, but with Khazhak instead. Also, since Team RWBY all have new looks at this point, I gave new looks to Team KEPL as well. The one who receives the biggest changes is Khazhak, however. Now then, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 49. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 49: A New Storm (Khazhak character short)**

 _Over half a year has passed since the Fall of Beacon. The world has been engulfed further in darkness, and the members of Team RWBY…remain divided. However, their leader, Ruby Rose, has not given up yet, and with her friends of Team JNPR and her new loyal servant, Khazhak Rairyu by her side, she goes to Mistral to seek the truth. Meanwhile, Khazhak's teammates go on their own missions, but each with the same goal: to reunite Team RWBY._

 _…Six to eight months since the Fall of Beacon, somewhere on the continent of Anima…_

A teenage boy walks through a forest at night. The boy is showed in a tattered brown cloak. A glimpse of his face shows disheveled blonde hair, with three claw marks on the left of his face, and blue eyes. The boy walks up to a cliff, and what he sees is a village a short distance away. A village engulfed in flames…The boy can faintly hear the screams of the villagers as they run away from their burning homes and Beowolves chase them across the streets. Narrowing his eyes, the boy hears loud cawing sound above him and looks up to see a few large Nevermores flying over him towards the village, attracted to the negativity brewing there. The boy frees his right arm from his cloak, revealing numerous scars along his arm, and large, silver gauntlet on his right arm, with thin armor plates covering his fingers and the head of a blue dragon on top of the main section; the whole gauntlet showing marks from previous battles. He reaches behind him to pull out a large metal contraption and pulls a trigger mechanism on it. The object has two small, rectangular section that start glowing blue as eight blue spikes, four on each side, extend. Then a large, single-edged blade extends from the body, showing blue edging and a blue lightning bolt mark with the head of a dragon at the end of the sides of the blade. The object turns out to be a large sword. Blue lightning moves from the boy's arm and encompasses the sword.

The boy jumps high into the air, impaling his sword on top of one Nevermore that flies by, cawing in pain. The boy rides the Nevermore until they are above the village, and then rips his blade out, only to decapitate the Grimm's head off, killing it as he falls to the ground. The boy lands in the town square, causing a small crater, in front of what looks to be an old church of sorts. The landing gains the attention of several Beowolves, black smoke rising from their bodies as they stalk towards him. The brown cloak moves to a faint breeze, revealing more of the boy's body. The boy, appearing seventeen or eighteen, has shoulder armor on his right shoulder, showing a thunder dragon emblem on it. He is wearing a black shirt with two blue dragon heads on the front, bearing their fangs, with a few blue lightning bolt markings below them. He is also wearing a black and blue belt, with a few black pouches on his hips, black pants with blue lightning bolts on them. On his feet, he has metal boots that go up to his knees, both with blue dragon heads and lightning bolts on them, as well as several marks on them from previous battles. The boy's face, though with longer blonde hair, reveals himself to be none other than Khazhak Rairyu, leader of Team KEPL. However, the left side of his upper body, wear his left arm once was, remains hidden by his cloak.

The Beowolves move closer to Khazhak, preparing to attack, but he remains motionless, eyes closed. Khazhak suddenly opens his eyes, and then launches himself towards the Grimm. He slices clean through one Grimm with his new sword with one arm, then swings around to cut of the head of second Grimm. Jumping into the air, he impales one Grimm with his sword as he lands, before pulling it out and using the momentum to swing it downward onto another Beowolf, cutting it in half. Khazhak moves to spin his sword around him in a tempest as he slashes through two more Grimm. One Beowolf lunges at him, but he stops it with his left foot, planting it onto the ground, and then shoving his sword through its skull. Pulling his sword free, he kicks back another Beowolf from behind before swinging his sword three times on another Beowolf, leaving it in pieces. Next, Khazhak stabs his blade through the body of one Beowolf, and then swings it around, sending it flying into another Grimm, and then they both crash into a nearby building. Lightning surges around his sword as he swings his body around, and then releases a large arc of blue lightning, just like his Lightning Slash technique, into three more Grimm, killing them. Khazhak looks back and quickly ducks as one Beowolf, on top of the church, starts throwing bricks at him.

Khazhak races around the town square, evading the bricks, before he charges more lightning into his sword. After evading three more bricks thrown at him, he swings his sword, sending a swarm of blue lightning bolts, like his old Lightning Oblivion technique, hurtling towards the Grimm. The attack destroys the Grimm, with a few remaining lightning bolts heading past it and colliding with a nearby Nevermore's head, killing it. Khazhak looks around, attempting to find anymore Grimm nearby, but finds nothing but the burning buildings of the village. However, he suddenly glances left before jumping forward as a large, black mass smashes into the ground. Khazhak lands in front of the church and looks back to the new arrival.

It turns out to be a new type of Grimm, a Beringel. The Beringel is a gorilla-type Grimm, with numerous, small white boney armor plates on its arms, legs, shoulders, and back. More bone armor is on its chest, along with rib armor around its lower torso. On its face is sharp teeth, and a bone mask, but this one appears damaged along the left side, as well as the left side of its face, neck, and shoulder appearing disfigured in a way. Battle scars can be seen on its boney chest armor, revealing that this one has seen some combat.

The Beringel pounds its chest and roars at Khazhak before jumping towards him to attack. Khazhak jumps out of the way, getting behind him before he tries to impale it with his sword. However, the sword only manages to get an inch deep into its body, showing it has a thick hide. Surprised, Khazhak immediately looks up, only to get punched in the face, sending him flying back into another building. Khazhak gets up and jumps onto one building, running atop it while charging up his sword. The Beringel, along with two more Beowolves that join the fray, race along the ground in pursuit. Charged up by this point, Khazhak swings his sword, sending another barrage of lightning bolts at the Grimm. The attack takes out one Beowolf, but the Beringel uses his big arms to block the attack before grabbing the second Beowolf, and then throws it at Khazhak. When it gets close, Khazhak slashes right through it, only to see the Beringel jump high into the air. Khazhak jumps back as it smashes its arms onto the rooftop, attempting to crush him.

The two opponents eye each other for a moment, waiting to see what the other will do next. A moment later, they charge at each other. The Beringel raises his arms to smash Khazhak, and he uses this opening to slash at his chest, but can't break through, and has to roll out of the way to avoid getting it. Next Khazhak, jumps over the Grimm, spinning his blade to land several hits on its back, and then jumps back as it tries to backhand him away. He lunges forward, and the Grimm meets his sword with a left punch. The two trade blows, as Khazhak uses his speed to move around the Grimm's arms, but fails to land a decisive blow with three sword strikes. The Beringel retaliates with a few punches with its fists, but Khazhak manages to block each one with his sword. The Grimm head-butts Khazhak, making him roll back, and then grabs him by his skull, slamming him into the building several times before punching straight into the ground in the town square, encasing him in smoke and debris. The Grimm jumps back down to the ground, pounding its chest and roaring in victory. It turns to walk away, but then stops a second later and looks back at where Khazhak crashed into the ground. Slowly, Khazhak rises from the ground, a few small lightning bolts surging around him.

The Beringel roars and jumps at him, raising its right fist to punch him. However, as its fist is about to collide with Khazhak's face, it is suddenly stopped by a metal object…that's not Khazhak's sword. The Grimm looks to see…a dark blue prosthetic arm where Khazhak's old arm once dwelled. The arm is encased in strong, dark blue armor while the insides are black, with the shoulder being round and having a few holes on it that are glowing blue. Along the forearm is what appears to be a rotary chamber of sorts, also glowing blue, with a metal protrusion on top. Finally, Khazhak's hand has a blue glowing circle on its back, sharp claws in place of fingers, and another glowing blue circle on his palm.

The Grimm roars as it tries to push back, but Khazhak charges lightning around his prosthetic arm, making the glowing sections glow brighter, and he starts pushing the Grimm back. Eventually, Khazhak moves the Grimm's right arm away, and then punches the Grimm's skull with his left fist, sending it flying into the side of a building. The Beringel shakes its head and roars at Khazhak as it charges at him again. However, as he approaches, Khazhak raises his left arm, palm facing the Grimm, and then fires off a bolt of lightning from it that hits the Grimm's face. Stunned by the surprise attack, the Grimm shakes its head again, only for it to get smashed into the ground by a surprise punch from Khazhak's left arm. Khazhak then grabs the Grimm's right leg with his new limb and starts swinging it around a few times before throwing it high into the sky. Khazhak charges up his sword, giving it more energy than usual. As the Grimm begins to fall back down, Khazhak prepares his sword.

"EXPLOSIVE THUNDER DRAGON WAVE!" he yells and swings his sword, sending a large blast of blue lightning in the form of a dragon's head towards the Grimm.

The attack consumes the Grimm, reducing it to dust, and with that the battle is over. Stabbing his sword into the ground next to him, Khazhak pulls out his scroll from his pocket as a call comes in. He pulls up the screen to show the faces of Ruby, Jaune, Ren, and Nora, along with the words 'local area only' shown below them.

"Khazhak, we saw your lightning! Are you alright?" Ruby asks.

"I am fine, Lady Ruby. However…I'm going to have to call you back," he says as he looks to the rest of the village, seeing more Beowolves and Nevermores coming towards him.

"Yeah, we saw the smoke too," Jaune says.

"Heading your way," Ren adds.

"Don't start without us," Nora says.

"Khazhak, we're coming to you now. We'll be there as soon as we can," Ruby finishes.

"…Then I shall await your arrival…My Master," Khazhak replies before hanging up and putting his scroll away. Khazhak pulls his sword out of the ground, but then looks to the night sky for a moment. _"Reaper, Porphyrius, Lloyd. I do not think you can hear me, but if you can…Commence the mission,"_ he mentally says before going off to fight more Grimm.

… _In the Kingdom of Atlas…_

"…I hear you Khazhak. The time has come…"the slightly robotic voice of Edom Soul Reaper can be heard.

Reaper is seen wearing his signature skull mask, though the rest of his outfit has changed. He is now wearing a new hood with red edging and a large red line on top. He has on a long-sleeved black shirt, but over it is metal bone-like armor, covering his torso, with some sections being red while the rest are gray. Around his lower torso, is a red plate of armor with more gray bone armor in the center. On his waist is a red and gray belt with a skull belt-buckle at the center. On his hips a wide piece of cloth that wraps around his waist, with two large armor pieces of the sides, showing his signature red soul and scythes emblem. On his shoulders are skull spauldrons, and on his arms are more red and gray bone armor, ending in black gloves with red metal claws. He has on black pants and metal boots similar to Khazhak's height wise, though these ones have skull designs on the knees and are mainly gray in color. In his left hand is his signature twin-scythe weapon. Currently, Reaper is on a cliff, overlooking a large white building…The Schnee Manor…

 _…At an unknown location…_

"I hear you, Khazhak. We've waited long enough," Porphyrius mutters as he approaches some shipping docks from the shadows.

Porphyrius still has one his usual eyepatch, which shows his emblem. However, he now has his hair, which has grown a little bit, tied back in a short low pony-tail, showing more of his face. Around his neck is a purple scarf, with two long strands that end at his ankles. For his body, he is now wearing a thin, black coat with a short purple tail, and purple edging on the upper arms and body, held together by a black metal button under his neck. On his arms are purple leather armor strapped to them. He has on two brown belts at the waist, carrying two brown pouches. He is wearing black pants with brown leather armor on his upper legs. He also has on brown boots. On his back is his signature backpack weapon, in its standby form. Porphyrius walks towards one of the ships stationed at the docks as it prepares to leave shortly.

 _…On the Island of Patch, just outside Ruby Rose's home…_

"…I hear you, Brother. The time has come to get Team RWBY back on their feet," Lloyd Jyousai says as he stabs the metal claws of his left clawed gauntlet weapon into the side of a tree, and looks towards Ruby's home.

Lloyd Jyousai now has his hair, which has grown a little, spiked up. He now wears a long-sleeved black shirt with grey, segmented armor covering most of his body. Over the body armor, he has on a long sleeveless, white jacket with grey edging that goes down to his ankles. He is also wearing a thin metal belt with a circular belt buckle around his waist. On his legs is a pair of black pants, with most of them covered by more grey, segmented armor; though the knees have a few spikes on them, and metal boots. On his shoulders, are a pair of large, grey armor spauldrons with three spikes each, and thin plating underneath the main sections. There is also small armor plates on his elbows. On his arms are his signature clawed gauntlets.

"Now then, let's get started," he says as he overlooks the home.

 _…Back in the village in Anima with Khazhak…_

Khazhak slices through the body of another Beowolf before relaxing his stance, "Team KEPL. If you can hear me, commence operation: Re-shining RWBY," he declares, narrowing his eyes…

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 **And that's the chapter. What do you think of the new outfits for the members of Team KEPL? Or about Khazhak's new arm and weapon? I already have character shorts written out for the rest of his team, but they'll have to wait until I get to volume 5 in this story. So you understand, by this point, Khazhak doesn't need to shout out the names of his old techniques, just his new ones. The power of the Dragon Spirit grants the passive effect of increasing the power and efficiency of his semblance, but that is only a small piece of what Khazhak will discover with his new power, which we will get into during volume 4. Also, like Khazhak, the rest of his team have also become more powerful since the Fall of Beacon, and it will be their jobs to act as mentors to their respective RWBY members. Anyway, Khazhak and Ruby's group are now in Anima, heading to Mistral. Will they make it? Will Team KEPL succeed in helping the members of Team RWBY? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	55. Chapter 50: The Next Step

**Here we are at chapter 50. The journey begins for our eight heroes as four begin their quests to regain what they have lost, while the other four help them reclaim what they lost. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 50. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 50: The Next Step**

… _At an unknown location…_

Currently, in a dark place somewhere on Remnant, a dead land filled with dark, purple glowing crystals, covered by a dark red sky along with the shattered moon. A small pool of black ooze sits idly, until a black, clawed hand rises from the ooze, and then a second, and then the full body rises from the pool, revealing itself to be a Beowolf. The Beowolf crawls out of the pool, roars, and then begins walking somewhere, passing by more pits of the same ooze, each one with a new Beowolf sprouting from them and taking their first steps behind it.

In a castle of sorts overlooking this dark landscape, Mercury and Emerald, the two members of Cinder Fall's crew, watch in horror at the birth of these Grimm. A moment later, a gloved hand snaps its fingers, beckoning them to return to the table in the center of the room. The room has windows all around it, with the same dark crystals as before surrounding the room, each with a lit candle on top. The long table in the center is glowing purple, with three chairs on the two longer sides each, looking is if they were made of wood…or bone. Meanwhile, a large chair sitting at the center of the table is made of more dark crystals, and behind it appears an altar perhaps, made with the same crystals and having several lit candles placed on it. Four of the seven chairs are currently occupied.

On one side, at the end, is a man with short black and gray hair. He has a mustache and green eyes, wearing a gray overcoat with yellow linings, a yellow dress shirt, and a black neck tie. He is also wearing gray pants, with a yellow-buttoned undercoat and fingerless gloves to match his cordovan shoes, and has on yellow socks. The man looks over something on his custom black scroll. His name is Doctor Arthur Watts.

Two seats from him on his side is another, larger man. The large man is muscular, with short brown hair, a beard and hazel eyes. He is wearing a two-tone olive green coat over a black ¾ sleeve shirt, and a large belt. His pants are black and his boots are brown with white fronts. His arms are a bit hairy and have some scars near the edges of his sleeves. The man sits in his chair, eyes closed and arms crossed, as if he's asleep. His name is Hazel Rainart.

Across from Hazel is a third man crouching on his seat. This man is pale with gold eyes and a brown ponytail braided to resemble a scorpion's tail. He is wearing a white sleeveless jacket with leather belts strapped to it, along with white pants. His jacket is open, revealing his bare chest, which is crisscrossed with prominent scars. His arms are covered with purple bandages and leather vambraces. He is also wearing leather boots covering his shins, along with knee guards. On his earlobes are silver, ring-shaped earrings, with a second one on his left ear. The man has his hands clasped together, grinning. His name is Tyrian Callows.

In the seat two across from Watts is Cinder Fall, though with a new appearance. Cinder's hair is much shorter now, and she wears a black mask over where her left eye should be, showing some scarring just outside the mask's edge, leaving a slight x-shape scar over the bridge of her nose. She is wearing a long, dark red dress with one long, wide sleeve hiding her left arm. The edges of the collar and the opening of the arm are gold-colored, and the upper chest and left sleeve are decorated with golden designs. The right side of her dress is open from the hip down, with two gold-colored straps made up of interwoven ropes connecting the front half to the back half across her thigh. Under the dress is black pantyhose. On the right hip, the dress has a black rhombus-shaped gem in gold-colored metal of the same shape, with feathers of varying shades of blue extending from the bottom of it. On her right arm is a long, gray glove, the top of which has a gold-colored metal ring with curvy branching extensions going up her arm. Her right ear has a new, ring-shaped earring higher up than the dangling black gem earring.

After snapping her fingers, Mercury and Emerald walk to stand on her left, though Emerald pushes Mercury away so she can stand closer to Cinder.

"Yes, yes, please keep your…possy in check," Watts says, adjusting his collar. Mercury growls and leans forward, but Emerald uses her left arm to stop him. Cinder looks at them before looking back at Watts. "You hear that…Silence. I've half the mind to thank the little girl that bested you," Watts says.

"If I were you, I'd hunt her down. Heh-heh, find her, and…well, she took YOUR eye, didn't she?" Tyrian adds before exploding into a fit of maniacal laughter.

Cinder then tries to speak, but the only thing that comes out is some faint, pained breaths. She leans closer to Emerald, who leans her ear to her, and begins whispering things to her.

"Pathetic. Why did you even-," Watts begins until the wooden doors to the room opened.

They all stand up in attention as their leader, Salem, walks into the room, black smoke trailing behind the bottom of her dark dress. She walks behind Watts and Hazel as she approaches the altar, hands clasped in front of her, and stares at it a moment.

"…Watts," she inclines to him without looking back, making him raise his eyebrows at her. "…Do you find such malignance necessary?" she questions him while turning around.

Salem raises her left arm and then slowly lowers it, beckoning them to sit back down, though Watts, Mercury and Emerald remain standing.

"I apologize, mam. I'm not particularly fond of failure," he says before he and Salem sit down, with Salem sitting in the crystal chair at the center.

"Then I see no reason for your cruelty towards young Cinder. She's become our Fall Maiden, destroyed Beacon tower, and most importantly…KILLED dear Ozpin. So I'm curious, to what failures are you referring?" she asks.

"Well…The girl with the Silver Eyes," Watts points out.

"Yes…We've dealt with their kind before. How is it a novice was able to best one of us?" Hazel asks in a deep voice.

"My thoughts exactly. Even without her new power, it should have been effortless. And to make matters worse, one of those Beacon students she met turned out to possess the power of the Dragon Spirit, the boy with the lightning semblance, and will most likely be helping the girl with the Silver Eyes. I thought he and his family had been dealt with years ago by our...associate...but it seems that wasn't the case. I would ask him about his failure, but sadly, he is away on another assignment in Vacuo. Still, Cinder here should've been able to deal with him as well," Watts says.

"It is because of the Maiden's power," Salem answers them, before looking at Cinder. "Make no mistake, Cinder. You hold the key to our victory…But your newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness…Which is why you will remain by MY side as we continue your treatment," Salem says, making Cinder look away in slight anger. "Dr. Watts, you are to take Cinder's place and meet with our informant in Mistral," she tells him.

Watts nods to her, "Very good," he replies.

Salem next looks to Tyrian, "Tyrian, I want you to continue your hunt for the Spring Maiden," she orders him.

Tyrian chuckles while wiping his hands together, "Gladly," he says.

Salem then turns to Hazel, "And Hazel, I'm sending you to the leader of the White Fang. Adam Taurus has arranged the meeting. The boy continues to prove loyal. Ensure that Sienna Khan feels the same," she tells him.

Hazel slowly nods to her, "As you wish," he says.

Cinder raises her left hand, getting Emerald's attention.

"Oh," Emerald notices and leans in so Cinder can whisper into her ear for a moment before leaning back.

Salem raises her left hand, "Speak, child," she says.

Emerald has a hard time looking at Salem, but answers, "She wants to know…What about the girl and the boy?" she asks for Cinder.

"Tch. What about them? Seems to me like this is Cinder's problem, not OURS," Watts says, making Cinder slam her right fist onto the table, gritting her teeth, much to Watts' amusement as he smiles back at her.

"That's enough…" Salem orders them while raising her left hand, then looks at Tyrian. "Tyrian," she begins.

"Yes, milady?" he asks.

"Spring can wait. Find the girl that did this to Cinder. The boy with the Dragon Spirit will most likely be with her, so deal with him if need be…" she begins, which makes Tyrian giggle in excitement, clapping his hands. "…And bring the girl to me," she finishes, making him groan in disappointment at not being allowed to kill her, though he brushes it off with a smile. "Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen…And Haven with be next," Salem declares.

Hazel and Watts stand up, but just as Cinder goes to stand up, Tyrian gets her attention.

"Heh-heh, eye for an eye," he says pointing at his eye, but then explodes into another, worse fit of crazy laughter, much to Cinder's aggravation.

… _Meanwhile, in Anima…_

In a dense forest somewhere in Anima, with a few short stone, east-Asian looking pillars under the trees, two familiar teenagers are walking through the forest; Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren of Team JNPR.

"I'm just saying, there's more members of Team JNPR in this team than RWBY. It just makes to go with THAT one," Nora says to Ren.

Nora's appearance has changed. She still has her old gloves, but now wears a white top similar to her old one, though the heart cut-out on top has a diagonal cut through it. She is wearing a shorter, detached white sleeve on her left arm. Over her shirt is a zippered blue-black bomber jacket with a damaged print of her emblem on the back and pink stripes along the sleeves. The pink bands of the jacket tighten on her upper arms. Her pink skirt is slightly longer with pleats that create some flair and two wide belt loops at the waist for her matching belt. She is also wearing knee-high pink socks just visible above calf-length boots, which are white with pink laces. Her Warhammer, Magnhild, currently rests on her back.

"But JNRR (Junior) isn't a color," Ren replies, scratching his head.

Ren's appearance has also changed. Ren is wearing his hair down, which has grown, and is almost butt-length. He is wearing a longer green sleeveless tailcoat, and a black, sleeveless turtleneck with red, tasseled ropes over the hips under it. He is also wearing white pants that get tighter below the knees, and calf-length open-toed sandals. From his middle finger to his biceps run gradient pink-to-black detached sleeves in metal arm bands. On his hips are his twin pistols, StormFlower, in their non-combat forms.

Nora groans and rests her head in her hands, "Ugh. How can I be more clear?!" she says and then raises her right hand as 'JNRR' appears above it in white lettering. "One, two, three. That's MORE than one," she says as she counts up each letter.

"But we're helping Ruby with her objective," Ren counters, raising his right hand as 'RNJR' (Ranger) appears above it in white letters. "Wouldn't that make HER the leader?" Ren asks, pointing at the first 'R'.

"Oh wait, what about Khazhak? Where should his name go?" Nora gasps.

"Khazhak said not to bother with that. He said that while his team is separated, it is not disbanded and he still considers himself the leader of Team KEPL," Ren replies as the letters vanish with a 'pop' sound.

"That reminds me, he still hasn't told us where he sent his teammates, and why. Why can't he just tell us? I'm sure if Ruby made him, he would say. I mean he is like her servant now, right?" Nora says.

"You and I both know that Khazhak doesn't make a move without a good reason behind it. He said that they have their own missions to attend to, just as we do. Ruby doesn't ask because she trusts him, as should we," Ren replies.

Behind Ren, Jaune who is kneeling behind a fallen tree log, in his same attire, looks back to them, "Guys…We need to focus," he says as he looks forward. "…Also JNRR is way cooler," he says, much to the joy of Nora.

"EXACTLY!" Nora screams in joy, hands on her hips.

Ren raises his arms and sighs in defeat, until they suddenly feel the ground shake around them as they try to keep their balance. Jaune looks at some pebbles on the ground as the shaking continues, followed by loud sounds coming up ahead of him as he turns back to the sounds.

"…It's here," he says.

From atop a cliff, a body of rose petals flies out from the trees and into the air, revealing itself to be Ruby Rose. Her attire has changed much over time. She is wearing a white high-neck décolletage blouse. She still has on her old black and red skirt, but her waist cincher has been replaced with an overbust corset. A black belt bordered in red holds the magnetic clip for Crescent Rose and its ammunition. She is also wearing brown straps on her blouse, allowing her to wear a small backpack. Instead of full black stockings, Ruby now wears thigh-high black stockings reaching to a few inches below the hem of her skirt, decorated by an image of a long-stemmed rose. Her red sole black boots contain four straps and buckles apiece. Her signature cloak has a singular clip on the right shoulder in the shape of her rose emblem, replacing the cross-shaped clips she used to wear. Both the cloak and the stockings show some tears from previous battles. Her hair has grown slightly longer, with the same color gradation from black at the roots to red at the tips.

Currently, Ruby flies through the air while firing off four shots from her weapon's rifle mode. Suddenly, trees begin to fall and move as a giant beast made up of random boulders breaks through the tree line, with the white, single-eyed, face of a Geist in the center, a ghost-type Grimm that can manipulate its surroundings into a body for itself. The Geist falls off the cliff as it swings at Ruby, and they both fall into the trees below the cliff.

"Bad! Landing! Strategy!" Ruby shouts as she falls on two tree branches before stopping at a third.

Ruby then quickly shoots out from the tree as the Geist Grimm, with its stone arms, smashes the tree and others around it in an attempt to crush her. The Grimm takes out some more trees, just barely missing Jaune, Ren, and Nora. Ruby lands on the ground on the Geist's right side, but just as it turns to attack her, several blue lightning bolts come out of nowhere at hit the Grimm's stone body, making it stumble. Ruby looks back to see Khazhak jump over her and then throws a hard left hook with his metal arm at the Grimm, knocking it further back. Khazhak then lands in front of Ruby and looks back to her.

"Are you alright, milady?" he asks.

"I'm fine. Thanks Khaz-Look out!" she yells and they both jump back as the Geist tries to smash them with its arms.

"Let's get that thing off them!" Jaune says and starts running around the Geist Grimm to get its attention.

Ren jumps in between two trees twice before landing on one high tree branch to get a better view.

"Don't forget me!" Nora says, and fires her weapon in its grenade launcher form, making it spew out pink smoke as it propels her up and onto the same branch as Ren.

"We need to draw its attention from Ruby and Khazhak," Ren says.

"Could use some help!" Ruby shouts as she flies right by them and hits the Grimm with her scythe before firing off a shot at it while propelling her away from it.

A second later, Khazhak jumps up and slashes at its left side with his sword before landing on the ground to fire a few spark shots from his left hand. The Grimm tries to crush him under its feet, but he jumps back to evade the attack. Ren jumps higher into the tree while Nora fires off three grenades that hit the Grimm in its back, but do little damage. Ren jumps between several trees, firing off his auto-pistols at the Grimm. The Geist tries to kill him by swinging his arms around, but only manages to destroy the trees that Ren was previously in. Ren lands on one tree and then jumps into the air as it gets smashed, flipping his body around as he lands on the Grimm's arm. He runs up the Grimm's arm and then jumps high into the air. He spins his body and the blades on his auto-pistols around as he falls towards the Grimm. The Geist uses its arm to block its face, forcing Ren to attack the main body, but only scratching the surface as he jumps off.

"We gotta get in closer!" Jaune yells.

Ren lands next to his right, "My blades don't hurt him!" he says.

Khazhak runs at its legs, taking a few swings at each of them, but they seem to have no effect. He then jumps onto a tree before jumping off it to strike at its back, once again dealing little damage as he jumps away to land next to Ren.

"This thing just won't die!" he shouts.

"Crap!" Nora says as it turns towards them all.

"How about THIS!" Ruby yells as she loads up her weapon with an ammo clip with a black lightning bolt marking on the side, showing it to contain lightning Dust rounds.

Ruby uses her semblance to propel her right in front of the Grimm in mid-air as she fires of a lightning bolt at its right arm. The lightning surges around the Geist's right arm, but ends up not doing anything, as Ruby lands and gasps in worry. The Grim smashes his right arm into the ground, releasing a shockwave along with dust and dirt that sends the group flying backwards. Ren and Nora land on their feet, leaning on each other, Ruby stabs her scythe's blade into the ground to safely stop herself from flying, and Khazhak shoves his metal claw into the ground to stop his advance. However, Jaune keeps flying back, bouncing off the ground a few times, only to hit a large boulder….right in the family jewels.

He falls to the ground in pain, "You'll be fine without a weapon. You're the strategist," he gasps painfully.

Meanwhile, the others look back to the Geist.

"That's it!" Nora shouts and runs at the Grimm.

She tosses her weapon into the air as it changes into its Warhammer form, and catches it as she spins it around in her hands. She runs closer to the Geist, which throws a right punch at her, but she jumps into the air and slams her hammer down on it, destroying its right arm. However, the Geist spins its upper body around while using its power to grab the flying boulder and sends it flying at Nora. Ruby quickly jumps in front of Nora and slices the boulder in two, but then the Geist tries to squash them with its left harm. However, Ruby and Nora jump back as Khazhak jumps ahead of them and blocks the attack with his sword, grinding his teeth as he pushes back against the Grimm.

"This thing's pissing me off!" he growls and punches the arm away with his left arm before firing off a few spark shots from his left hand and then jumps away.

Jaune gets up and does some stretches, but then moves left to avoid an incoming rock that nearly hit his face. He jumps around to dodge three more flying rocks, each one close to hitting him.

"Hey! Be careful!" he shouts, only to get hit in the face by a fourth flying rock, sending him crashing into a tree trunk.

Meanwhile, Khazhak and Ruby jump back while Nora dodges left to avoid the Grimm from squashing her under its right foot. Then she jumps back, but then has to roll left to evade another strike, only to jump back again from a second attack. Jaune gets up, leaning on a tree trunk, and looks up to see the Geist looking down at him. A red symbol of what appears to be an eye appears on its right side, followed by a large, black, ghostly Grimm arm.

"Uh oh," Jaune mutters with worry.

The ghost arm enters the tree trunk Jaune is leaning on, and then pulls it out of the ground, making it its new arm as the Grimm starts swinging it at Jaune.

"His arm is a tree! His arm is a TREE!" he shouts as he runs away.

"Big mistake!" Ruby says and twirls her scythe around before resting it on her right shoulder.

She pulls out another ammo clip, this one with a black fire symbol on it, showing the rounds to be fire Dust rounds. Loading up the ammo clip, she loads up a round, aims, and fires off a fire Dust round that hits the Geist's tree arm, forcing it back. Jaune looks up and pumps his fist in joy. The joy is quickly lost as the Grimm shows its right arm, now with the tree on fire.

"BIG MISTAKE!" he freaks out.

The Geist starts swinging its tree arm at him again a few times until Jaune falls to the ground. He looks up as the Grimm raises its right arm, and then swings down at him. However, Ren throws one of his auto-pistols like a boomerang at the Grimm, hitting its face while leaving a mark and making it stumble back. Khazhak takes this chance to jump up and punch it in the face with his left arm, sending it falling to the ground. Ren lands near Jaune while retrieving his flying auto-pistol as the others regroup with them.

"Okay, how do we do this?" Jaune asks himself as the Grimm starts to get back up.

"His body is too thick to break through," Ren notes.

"It doesn't care about its body," Jaune says.

"Plus it can keep grabbing new limbs," Nora adds.

"But it's protecting its face," Jaune notes.

"We can't break it," Ruby says.

"It's using its limbs to protect its face," Khazhak says.

"Uh…if we knocked all of its limbs off, then went for the-," Jaune muses before getting an idea as he turns to the others. "Guys, I got it. We hit it HARDER," Jaune says.

"…Is that it?" Ren asks, confused along with the others.

"Really? THAT'S your big idea?" Khazhak says, shaking his head.

"No seriously, it's trying to keep us from its face. If we kill the limbs, we'll have a shot to kill the whole thing!" Jaune explains.

"Alright. Come on team, let's do this!" Ruby declares.

Nora pops up next to her, "Yeah!" Nora cheers.

"If Milady is for it, then so am I," Khazhak adds.

"Right!" Ren ends.

Jaune points to the tree, "Ren, left. Ruby, right. Khazhak, focus up front. When the time is right, clear us a path," he says, and the three jump up into the trees. Jaune looks at Nora, "Nora, ready to try out the new upgrade?" he asks, to which she nods with a smile before running off. Jaune pumps his fist, "Right. Then I will-AHH!" Jaune screams as the Grimm attacks him with its tree arm again, and he starts running.

Ruby flies in from behind, swinging her scythe downward at it, but the Grimm swings back, forcing her away. Ren jumps over it from its side, firing his weapons at it. Then, Khazhak charges at its front, swinging his blade as he sends another Lightning Slash attack at its legs. The Grimm swings its right arm at him, making him jump back, and then punches Ruby away with its left arm. Meanwhile, Nora stands off at a distance, and her hammer starts charging up pink lightning around its hammer portion. She looks at Jaune, who nods and runs at the Grimm's legs.

"Uh, hey! Over here!" he yells, getting its attention.

The Geist swings its right arm down at him, but he rolls out of the way. Ren then shows up, landing on the Grimm's left shoulder as he fires his auto-pistols at it a moment before jumping off to safety. Next Ruby, flies in using her semblance, and takes a few swings at it. The Grimm blocks her strike with its left arm and then swings its right arm at her, but she flies right under it. Khazhak fires off a few spark shots at its body, and then jumps into the air towards its face, swinging his sword in a twister as he approaches. The Grimm blocks his attacks and tries to knock him away with its left arm, but Khazhak rolls over the attack before jumping away. Ruby then shoots up high into the air, aiming her weapon in reverse before firing, sending her zooming at the Grimm to attack its left arm again. Meanwhile, Nora continues her charge, digging her left foot into the ground until a moment later, she's done.

"Ready!" she shouts.

Ruby slashes at the Grimm one more time before firing off a shot to propel her to land next to Nora.

"Khazhak, now!" Jaune yells from behind Ruby.

Khazhak charges up his sword for a moment as the Grimm approaches him.

"EXPLOSIVE THUNDER DRAGON WAVE!" he shouts, swinging his sword downward as he releases a large blast of blue lightning in the form of a dragon's head at the Grimm.

The Grimm blocks it with its arms, but the attack manages to destroy both arms in a large explosion. Khazhak looks back at the others.

"Now!" he yells.

Jaune looks at Ruby and Nora, "Use everything you've got!" he says.

Ruby uses her semblance and shoots over to the Grimm while picking up Nora, turning them into a spiral of pink and red. When their close, Ruby throws Nora, who swings her hammer down, sending a huge blast of pink electricity that destroys the Geist's stone body. The Geist jumps out of the main boulder it was controlling, revealing a black, ghostly form, and attempts to flee into the forest. The group just smiles as Ruby takes aim with her weapon and fires off a fire shot that hits the Grimm dead center, killing it.

Jaune walks up in front of the others, panting, "Another victory for Team JNRR," he says, hands on his hips, but then… "Alright, you know, okay. Ren, I think you might be on to something. It's just not sounding great anymore," Jaune says, losing his previous flare.

… _A little later, at a nearby village…_

In a village, the group meet with the mayor to inform him of the mission progress.

"We truly can't thank you enough," the village mayor says as he shakes Ruby's hand.

The mayor has gray hair, and is wearing red robes accented in gold, a necklace of green prayer beads around his neck, and a golden ornamental hair piece.

"Just doing our job, sir," Ruby happily replies.

"That Geist had been plaguing our village for weeks. We were beginning to wonder if we'd have to relocate," he says.

"Well, we are on our way to Mistral. You could always come along with us if you don't feel safe," Ruby offers.

"Heh, I take it you're not from these parts," the mayor says as he takes a look at his village. "Anima's a large continent. I'm afraid our people would never survive the long trip to Mistral. It may be safer in the kingdoms, but we prefer OUR way of life. I'd just wish we could pay you more," he says as he crosses his arms and shakes his head.

"Our previous arrangement is more than sufficient," Ren says as he looks at everyone in agreement.

They all politely bow to him before heading off to the blacksmith's shop in the village. They enter the shop to see a large Faunus man with horns on his forehead, wearing gloves and a red apron over his shirt, pants, and boots. He has black hair with a thick beard. The blacksmith places a piece of white chest armor with gold accents on the front counter for the group to see.

"There you go, son. It's gonna be heavier than you're used to, but you'll thank me the next time you go up against a set of claws," he says as Jaune looks at the armor in awe.

"Wow…I, I don't know what to say," Jaune replies.

"Don't gotta say anything, just put it on. I'll go get the rest," the blacksmith says and heads into the back.

"So, what are you waiting for?" Nora encourages Jaune.

"Oh, uh, right," Jaune says and walks up to the counter while taking off his old chest armor, placing it on the counter next to the new chest armor. "Guess I was gonna grow out of it eventually," Jaune mutters.

"A sign of progress," Ren offers some supporting words while the others smile.

"Progress," Jaune nods his head, but turns around making Ruby gasp in surprise and Khazhak raise an eyebrow in confusion. Ruby holds her hands over her mouth as she starts snickering. "Wha-what is it?" Jaune asks.

"What is THAT?!" she shouts, pointing at Jaune's hoodie.

On the front of Jaune's hoodie, is the head of a cute, brown rabbit image.

"What, my hoodie? I've always had this," he admits.

Ruby holds her chest in her left arm, and snickers some more, "It's gotta cute, little, BUNNY RABBIT!" she cheers, and starts laughing hard, holding her chest in her arms.

"It's Pumpkin Pete! You know, from the cereal!" Jaune defends his hoodie, but this makes Ruby only laugh harder and lean more forward.

"What did you do, send in a box top for a prize?!" she asks through her laughter.

"Yeah! Fifty!" Jaune answers as he turns away.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ruby explodes in laughter, making Jaune hunch over in embarrassment.

Ruby continues laughing so much, that she ends up falling backwards onto the floor, still laughing as the others watch, only calming down a moment later.

"Well…I suppose we don't have to grow out of everything," Ren jokes, making Ruby snicker again.

"Well, Jauney-boy, whatever pretenses of cool you just gained…You just lost," Khazhak adds, making Ruby laugh again.

A second later, the blacksmith returns, "Can't have a huntsmen without his weapon," he says and places Jaune's sword on the counter on its tip, expanding the sheathe it's in into its shield form, getting everyone's attention. "Made all the modifications you asked for. That was some fine metal you brought me. Accents the white nicely. Where'd you get it from?" he asks.

Jaune and the others look at the shield, with its new gold accents on the edges, and the new hilt for his sword. The others step forward as they all look at the accents with a sense of nostalgia, since they got the metal from the weapons of their late friend, Pyrrha Nikos, who died at the Fall of Beacon.

"From a friend," Jaune answers, thinking of Pyrrha.

Ruby, Ren, Nora, and Khazhak wait outside while Jaune changes into his new armor.

"So Khazhak, how's your arm holding up?" Ruby asks.

"It is fine, milady. It was good that that prosthetic engineer I told you about recently came to Vale to help with the reconstruction efforts, and that we had to pass through there before coming to Anima," Khazhak says as he flexes his prosthetic limb. "I must also thank you for your aid in helping me upgrade my new weapon. Narukami could no longer handle the power I wield, but my new blade, Rairyukami, most certainly can," he says, patting his weapon on his back.

"Yeah, we basically combined your old blades into one, to give it a stronger body to hold up the extra energy. It was really cool," Ruby says.

A moment later, the blacksmith shop door opens and everyone looks to se Jaune in his new attire. Jaune is still wearing his old hoodie, but he now wears a modified pure white chestplate covering more of his upper abdomen trimmed with gold lining and similarly colored bracers on his arms. He is also wearing black gloves with gold-colored metal armor plates over his fingers like Khazhak's, and is wearing a red sash around his waist like Pyrrha's. Finally, he has on dark brown laced boots and a new brown belt with a pouch around his waist, his sword resting on his left hip in its sheathe. Jaune pulls out his sword and then activates his shield on his left arm, showing their new designs. The blacksmith walks up behind him to stand next to him.

"He cleans up alright, don't you think?" he asks before Jaune starts to walk to them.

"He certainly does," Ren notes.

Khazhak walks up to Jaune and places his right hand on Jaune's left shoulder, "…Pyrrha would be proud. As am I," he says.

"Thanks Khazhak," Jaune replies.

"I still think a grenade launcher would've really brought the look together," Nora says.

"You always think that," Khazhak notes.

"Nothing's gonna stop Team RNJR now!" Ruby cheers, pumping her right fist in the air.

"Team JNRR," Nora retorts.

"Still not a color," Ren counters her.

"It doesn't matter what we're called," Jaune says as he sheathes his sword and turns his shield back into its sheathe form. "As long as we're together," he says.

The blacksmith leans against a wooden post on his shop, "You kids sure you won't stick around? You've been real good to this town," he asks.

"Sorry, but we've got another mission," Ruby declines.

"Make it to Haven Academy, no matter what," Nora cheers.

Khazhak nods his head to the blacksmith, "We appreciate the offer…But the path we walk on takes us elsewhere. We have an important mission for us, and we must see it through to the end," he says.

"We've heard the next village over has a working airship," Ren adds.

"Hm, no way to know for sure. Scroll signals were bad enough out here when Beacon Tower was still up. Haven't heard from Shion village in a while," the blacksmith says while stroking his beard.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Ruby says, waving goodbye as the group leaves the village.

The blacksmith grunts before heading back inside his shop. A few minutes later, the group is already out of the village, heading down a dirt road with wooden fences on the sides, on their way to their next destination.

"Food?" Jaune list off.

"Check," Nora says.

"Water?" he adds.

"Check," Nora says again.

"How 'bout ammo?" he asks.

"Locked and loaded. Thank you, Schnee Dust Company," Nora answers.

The mentioning of the SDC causes Ruby to look down in sadness, thinking about Weiss and the rest of her team while Jaune starts asking the others about the map. Khazhak notices Ruby's expression.

"Thinking about your teammates, Milady?" he says, getting her attention.

Ruby sighs, "Yeah…I miss them," she says solemnly.

Khazhak places his right hand on her left shoulder, "Have hope, Milady. Have hope that one day, you will see your teammates again, and that one day Team RWBY will be back together. Never let go of that hope," he comforts her.

Ruby smiles a little at this, "Thanks, Khazhak. I bet you miss your teammates as well," she says.

"I am always at your service, Milady. As for my team, I do miss them. But, I know that they can take care of themselves, and that one day, I will see them again. I will see them again, because I have hope," he says as they continue on their journey. _"Reaper, it's your turn to take the stage,"_ he thinks.

 _…Meanwhile, in the Schnee Manor in the Kingdom of Atlas…_

Airships fly by as Weiss Schnee sits in a chair, legs crossed, and looking out her room window, a solemn expression on her face. Her attire has changed since the Fall of Beacon. She is now wearing a short, glittering dress with a color gradation of blue to pale blue at the hem, a sweetheart neckline, and a white, tulle petticoat. She is also wearing a white ribbon wrapped multiple times around her waist, and over the outfit is wearing a slightly sheer long-sleeved blue shrug fastened at the collar with a large sapphire broach that has three pendants dangling from it. Printed on the back of her shrug is the Schnee Crest. She also has on dark blue wedge heels and sapphire earrings. Her room, with everything in a few shades of blue, has a large bed with tall bed posts, with blue drapes set over and around them. She has a few tall book cases on the walls and some other seats set in the room, with drawers on the sides of her bed. A few picture frames, one with a knight armor in it, can be seen on her walls. A moment later, someone knocks on her door.

"Yes?" she says.

The door opens, and in walks a man who stand shorter than Weiss. The man, one of her butlers, is slightly overweight, with balding brown hair and a large mustache. He has light brown eyes, with a normal complexion. This is her butler, Klein Sieben.

Klein bows slightly to her, "Pardon the interruption, Miss Schnee, but your father wishes to speak to you," he informs her.

Weiss sighs, "…Thank you, Klein," she says and looks out the window one more time before she gets up and goes to meet her father.

However, once she leaves and closes the door, a curved blade with a red line in the center slowly sneaks in through the center crack of her window, cutting through the lock. The window slowly comes open by itself, and then a hooded figure, carrying a twin-scythe weapon enters the room. The hooded figure reveals themselves to be…Edom Soul Reaper.

"Well, then…Time for us to begin," he says, his eyes shining for a moment.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A long one, but I wanted to put it all into one chapter. Khazhak, Ruby, and the others continue on to Mistral, and it looks like Reaper begins his mission with Weiss. What awaits our heroes in the future? Until then, please Read and Review…Seriously, Review.**


	56. Chapter 51: Bonds

**Here we are at Chapter 51. I'm going to try and change things up a bit in this story in order to make it a little more interesting while still following the canon story. Hope this makes people like it more. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 51. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 51: Bonds**

… _In the forests of Anima…_

Ruby and her group continue their trek to Mistral, with Jaune at the front carrying the map, Ruby behind him, and everyone else behind her.

"It's a shame that village's airship wasn't working when we got there. It would've saved us a lot of time to use it to get to Mistral," Nora groans.

"No use crying about it now. We'll just have to this the old fashioned way," Khazhak notes, and then looks up to the sky. "It's getting late. We'd best stop shortly set up camp for the night. No use running around in the dark," he says.

Ruby looks back to him, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Come on, let's get ready to pack it in for the night, gang," she says.

A short while later, the group find an open space within the forest and set up camp, with their sleeping bags set up around an already lit camp fire. The only one in the group without a sleeping bag is, Khazhak, who told them that he's fine without one and rather it not constrict him in case they get attacked at night in their sleep. After making sure everything was set up, and having some food, the group sit around the camp fire. A moment later, Khazhak stands up.

"I'm gonna scout around the area, make sure there aren't any Grimm or bandits nearby. I'll be back shortly," Khazhak says, and then leaves.

Ruby watches him leave, and then turns her focus back to the fire as she pulls her knees up to her face.

"Khazhak sure is reliable, huh? Then, again, he did used to travel a lot before he came to Beacon," Nora notes.

"Yeah, it's good we have him as a friend," Jaune adds.

"…Yeah," Ruby mutters, not as cheery as them, which the others have noticed.

"Ruby…are you okay?" Jaune asks.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine…It's just…" Ruby trails off.

"It's about Khazhak, isn't it?" Ren says, figuring it out.

Ruby's head bolts up at hearing this, "What?! No, it's not that it's just…" she tries to play it off, but everyone just deadpans at her, and she sighs in defeat. "Yeah, it's about Khazhak," she admits.

"What's wrong then? If you're worried about Khazhak, I don't think that'll be a problem. I'm not afraid to admit that he's the strongest member of our group. I doubt anything can beat him," Jaune says.

"It's not that…I know Khazhak can take care of himself. It's just…He's been through so much, even before he came to Beacon. Losing his parents and his sister, fighting from battle to battle, losing his arm at the Fall of Beacon. I just…I wish there was more I could do for him. He was starting to enjoy life again, and then all that stuff happened back during the Vytal Festival. He was always there for me, and I wasn't able to help him at all," Ruby says sadly.

Nora and Jaune glance at each other, but Ren…

"That's not true," Ren says, getting their attention. "You have done many things for him. You said he was starting to enjoy life again? Well, that was because of you. Remember, he swore his life to you, Ruby, not to me, or Nora, or Jaune. YOU. Khazhak never once liked taking orders from anyone, and yet he chose to become your servant. I think that says a lot about how much you mean to him," Ren says.

Ruby starts to blush a little bit at this, "Y-You think so?" she stutters.

"Of course! After all, you do like 'like' him, right?" Nora says with a smirk.

And now, Ruby's blush has gone deeper, "W-W-What are you talking about? It's not like that!" Ruby retorts.

"What's not like what?" she hears and they all look back to see Khazhak return. "What'd I miss?" he asks.

"NOTHING!" Ruby yells, making Khazhak raise an eyebrow at her.

 _...Meanwhile, in Atlas at the Schnee Manor…_

To say that things have been well for Weiss would be a complete load of garbage. First, after she had been taken back by her father from Beacon, she has been stuck at her home which felt more like a prison for months. She had to deal with him, her leech of a brother, Whitley, and then her mother was too drunk to ever really focus on anything. At least she had her butler, Klein, to cheer her up a bit. Currently, Weiss is in her room, sleeping in her bed in her usual nightgown. Earlier that day, her father told her that he would be hosting a little concert event to raise awareness about their 'sympathies' for the people of Vale and Beacon, and to show everyone that the Schnee family was still strong and united. Of course, Weiss knew it was only so he could make more money. With General Ironwood's Dust embargo, business for the SDC has declined somewhat, though that didn't stop her father. And now he wants her to sing at the event, and she had NO choice or say in the matter. Even sleep didn't seem to do much to ease her frustration. She wishes she could be back at Beacon, with her teammates, with her friends, but it seems that fate did not want to be kind to her.

At one point, Weiss opens her eyes from her restless sleep, and sits up in her bed. She looks out her window to see the shattered moon and some stars in the sky. Getting out of bed, she walks up to the window and holds her arms together as she stares out into the night.

 _"Why did this have to happen to us? I wish I could be back at Beacon. That place felt more like home than this god forsaken place ever did,"_ Weiss mentally notes.

Weiss sighs and closes her eyes, but when she opens them, she finds a small floating red skull phantom right in front of her. She gets spooked and jumps back, getting defensive as she looks around for any culprit. However, she finds no one in her clear sight, and takes another look at the phantom, which just remains in the air in front of her. A moment later, her eyes widen.

"Wait a minute. Isn't this…one of Reaper's skull phantoms?" she gasps in realization.

The skull phantom nods and then flies around her to a darkened corner of her room, where a metal hand reaches out and the phantom lands on it before it dissipates. Weiss gets nervous, but then the figure steps out of the shadows, revealing a familiar twin scythe and metal skull mask.

"Is…Is that-," Weiss begins.

"It has been some time…Weiss Schnee," Edom Soul Reaper replies in his slightly robotic voice.

Weiss starts to tear up a little bit before she runs at Reaper, and tackles him in a tight hug, happy to see the face, or mask, of an old friend.

"Reaper! I can't believe you're here! Oh, I am so glad to see you!" she cries as a few tears fall down her cheeks.

Reaper wraps his left arm around her, "I've missed you too, Weiss," he says and they release each other a moment later.

Weiss wipes her tears away, "What are you doing here? If my father or anyone else finds you-," she begins.

"They won't. No offense, but your security here is severely lacking," Reaper jokes.

Weiss sighs in relief, "What about the others? Are your teammates here?" she asks.

Reaper turns away from her to look out the window, "No. I have not seen nor heard from any of my teammates since the Fall of Beacon. We all knew as much when we each agreed to our own missions," he says.

"Wait, what missions?" Weiss asks.

Reaper walks around her to the window to her, "Khazhak has ordered that each member of our team is to watch over a member of your team. He sent me here to watch over you. Meanwhile, he sent Porphyrius to track down Blake, and had Lloyd remain behind in Patch to watch over Yang. Meanwhile, Khazhak left with Ruby. With the CCT down, we would not be able to contact each other for an unknown amount of time," he explains.

"But, why would he do that? And what do you mean when you said 'left with Ruby'? Does that mean that Ruby isn't in Patch with Yang?" she questions him.

"Ruby has not been in Patch for several months, as far as I know. Though Yang should still be there, with Lloyd watching over her. Khazhak did not want her to go alone, so he went with her," Reaper replies.

"What?! But that's insane, why would Ruby just leave her home after what happened? Not to mention after Yang lost her arm. Why would she do that? And Khazhak lost his arm too. Why would he go with her?" she asks, shocked.

Reaper shakes his head, "Unfortunately, I can't tell you that right now," he says.

"What? But why?" she asks.

"My orders dictate that I inform Weiss Schnee of the situation. However…as it stands now, you are NOT Weiss Schnee," he admits.

This shocks her, "What? Why would you say that? What is wrong with you?!" she asks, getting a little angry.

Reaper looks back to her, "Do you know what I see when I look at you?" he inquires. Weiss slowly shakes her head. "I see a girl who has CHOSEN to become her father's SLAVE once more. A bird trapped in a cage, and that is not the REAL Weiss Schnee. The real Weiss Schnee, the Weiss Schnee I remember and respected, was a girl who followed her own path, and allowed no one to decide her fate. Yet, you are allowing your father to decide yours. As such, I cannot tell you everything right now," he explains.

Weiss looks down in sadness because deep down, she knows he's right. However, Reaper places a hand on her shoulder.

"However, another part of my mission is to help you get back on your feet, and get you back in the fight. But, I can only do that when you are ready to go down that road of your own free will," he says.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"Weiss, our enemies, the one's responsible for the Fall of Beacon…I know they are planning something. Something far worse than what happened in Vale. And your leader, Ruby Rose, will be at the center of all of it. Ruby is special, more special than any of us could've realized, but she cannot do this on her own. That's why Khazhak sent me here, for you and for her. Ruby will need you by her side, and soon," he says.

Weiss looks away, "I'm…I'm not sure I'd be any help to her right now," she says.

"In your current state, no, you would be of no use to her. That is why you must first regain what you have lost, and be the teammate that she cares about and respects once more," he encourages her and she looks back at him. "Only when you are ready to get back in the fight, will I tell you everything. But until then, if you ever need me, I will be nearby," he says and opens her room window. "Weiss, you need to think about what's more important to you: following your father's will…or walking down your own path. But I must warn you, time is short. Our enemies are growing stronger and if we are to have any chance of defeating them…" he says and flexes his left hand, causing a giant red skull phantom to appear from underneath his feet, rising into the air with him on top, stupefying Weiss. "…Then we must become stronger ourselves," he says and flies off on the giant skull phantom.

Weiss looks out the window and thinks upon his words, _"…Ruby…"_

… _Back in Anima, with Ruby's group…_

 _"Do you believe in destiny?"_ Pyrrha's voice can be heard amidst a flurry of silver lights. _"Yes-Jaune…PYRRHA!"_ Ruby's voice screams and she suddenly opens her eyes, having woken up from a dream.

Ruby sits up in her sleeping bag, looking around to see Ren, Nora, and Jaune in their sleeping bags, sitting around a dried up campfire. Ruby holds her forehead in her left hand, the dream disturbing her a bit. She then looks behind her to see Khazhak sitting with his back against a tree, left leg propped up and his sword fully extended on his right side, should they be attacked at night. A small smile appears on Ruby's face as she stares at him, but that smile quickly fades away as she takes a closer look at the scars on his face and then drifts down to his prosthetic left arm, laying at his side.

 _"…Even after everything he's been through, he still fights…When he was just starting to enjoy life again…Why must he suffer like this? Why did this happen to all of us?"_ she wonders as she crawls out of her sleeping bag and inches closer to Khazhak. She gets up close, with their faces only about a foot away. Her face turns red as she inches a little bit closer, almost as if she's trying to kiss him. However, she quickly pulls back as Khazhak's eyes suddenly open, and he looks at her, unfazed.

"Is something wrong, Milady?" he asks.

"No! Nothing's wrong. Uh, good morning!" she quickly replies before letting out a heavy sigh.

A while later, the group is seen walking down a dirt road, with Ruby at the front while holding a map in her hands.

"So, the next town is…Uh-huh…Uh-huh? We're lost," she relents in defeat.

"We're not lost. The next town is Shion. My family used to visit there all the time," Jaune says.

"Yeah, you and your seven sisters," Khazhak notes, making Ruby and Nora giggle. "Explains a lot really," he notes.

"Wait, what?" Jaune asks accusingly.

"Oh nothing. He means nothing. Soooo, what did you guys do there?" Ruby asks.

"Oh! All sorts of stuff," he says as he walks up to stand beside her on her right. "Over here is a great hiking trail. And here is where we went camping all the time. I got my own tent because I was special," he praises himself as he points at different parts of the map.

"More like because you were the only guy in the group. Well, sort of," Khazhak says, making Nora and Ruby snicker.

"Hey, I was special…Also because it was so my sisters would stop braiding my hair," he confesses, losing some of his confidence.

"Aw, isn't that adorable," Nora says, making Jaune groan. Ruby and Jaune look at the map, not noticing that Khazhak, Ren, and Nora stopped, all looking shocked while Nora holds her hands over her mouth. "Uh, guys," Nora gets their attention.

"Huh?" they both ask as they look up.

They quickly look on in shock as they see Shion village…completely destroyed with smoke still rising into the sky in front of them.

"We need to move!" Khazhak says as they drop the map and race into the burned down village, passing by dead bodies along the way.

They enter the village and start looking around, "There could be survivors," Ruby says.

"Over here!" Ren calls out as he runs ahead to the center of the village.

The others follow behind, past all the destroyed and smoking buildings, and they all stop to see a huntsmen wearing gray gear sitting up against some rumble, and with a bloody wound at his side as he breathes weakly. Ren and Khazhak kneel by his sides while the other's look on.

"A huntsmen!" Ruby gasps.

Khazhak checks his injury, "He's badly wounded," he says.

"What happened?! Who killed all of these people?!" Jaune asks.

The huntsmen coughs up some blood, "Bandits…The whole tribe…And with all the panic," he says before coughing again.

Ren looks to the others, "Grimm," he says, knowing the huntsmen's answer.

Ren stands up and walks behind the huntsmen while Khazhak stays at his side and the others turn away to talk.

"Alright, we can get him to the next village and try to find a doctor there," Ruby says.

"Yeah, Ren, Khazhak, and I can take turns carrying him," Jaune adds.

"But what if he doesn't make it?" Nora worries.

"He will. He has to," Jaune retorts.

"If we get going now, his chances will be better. I can run ahead and look for help," Ruby says, not seeing Ren walk back up the huntsmen and Khazhak lowering his head.

"Don't bother, Milady," Khazhak calls out.

Wind blows by as Ren looks down to the huntsmen…who has now died. Khazhak closes his eyes and lowers his head in in a silent prayer.

The others look on in horror," Should we…bury him?" Nora asks.

"We should go. It's not safe here," Ren says as he walks by them.

"Ren…" Nora calls to him.

Khazhak walks up to them, "Ren is right. We need to go…" he says and takes one last glance at the dead huntsmen. "There's nothing we can do for him now," he says.

Nora goes after Ren while Jaune holds his head in his left hand. Ruby offers a supportive hand on his right arm.

"It'll be okay," she tries to comfort him.

Jaune sighs, "…I'm just tired of losing everything," he says as they look at the dead huntsmen.

Ren walks until he stops and Nora catches up to him while he looks at the ground. They both see what looks to be a large hoof-print in the ground, and then glance at each other. The others begin to catch up to them, but Ruby looks at Khazhak.

"Khazhak…are you okay?" Ruby asks.

"I'm fine, Milady…I've seen plenty of dead bodies in my time. Many of them, by my own hands. Death is something I'm quite familiar with," he says and continues on.

As night reaches the sky, the group set up camp after leaving the destroyed village. Not long after that, they all went to sleep. However, Khazhak opens his eyes when he hears something and looks to see Jaune leave the camp. He then turns his eyes to Ruby, and notices her squirming in her sleep, most likely having a bad dream. Khazhak moves to kneel next to her. He sees her eyes squint in fear and she's even sweating a little bit, mumbling Pyrrha's name. Without thinking, Khazhak lays down next to her and pulls her close in his arms. Eventually, Ruby calms down and slowly wakes up to find herself in Khazhak's arms. Ruby turns red like a tomato and looks up at Khazhak.

"K-Khazhak?" she stutters.

"You were having a nightmare," Khazhak notes. Ruby looks somber at this, but Khazhak pulls her a little closer. "I miss Pyrrha too," he says.

At hearing this, Ruby finally breaks down and silently cries into Khazhak's chest. Khazhak says nothing and just holds her as she lets out all her inner pain. Eventually, Ruby calms down and falls back into a peaceful sleep. Once he is sure that Ruby is asleep, Khazhak slowly releases her and pulls her sleeping bag over her more to keep her warm. After that he goes off into the direction that Jaune went. After a minute of walking, he comes into a clearing and sees Jaune, with his sword and shield out, and his scroll on a tree stump, playing a training video with Pyrrha in it. Khazhak watches as Jaune follows the recording of Pyrrha's instructions, swinging his sword at a steady pace, and yelling each time he swings it.

"You know, yelling like that really doesn't help," Khazhak says as he walks up, getting Jaune's attention. "It just wastes air and energy," Khazhak notes.

"Khazhak, what are you doing here?" Jaune asks as he looks away.

"Checking on you, but if you want to be alone, then I'll be heading back," Khazhak says as he turns to leave.

"Khazhak, wait," Jaune stops him, and he looks back. "I don't want to betray Pyrrha like this, but I…I need to get stronger. Pyrrha taught me everything she knows, but that wasn't enough to save her. Would you…be willing to teach me what you know?" Jaune asks. Khazhak just stares at him, making Jaune nervous. "Khazhak?" he mutters.

"Hold up your shield," Khazhak says out of the blue. Though confused, Jaune holds it up, only for Khazhak to suddenly shoot over and punch it with his left arm, sending Jaune crashing into the ground.

Jaune sits back up, "What was that about?!" he asks.

"You need to have a firm stance. You're the shield of your team, so start acting like it. You're the only thing standing between them and a bullet to the face. So stand up," Khazhak orders him. Jaune slowly gets back on his feet. "If I'm gonna train you, Jaune, know that it won't be like how Pyrrha trained you. I'm gonna train you the same way my father taught me. And to him, the best form of training…is actual combat," Khazhak says as he raises his fists and takes a combat stance.

Jaune readies his sword and shield, "Aren't you gonna draw your sword?" he asks.

"No offense, but even now, you're still nowhere near good enough to force me to use my blade," Khazhak notes, making Jaune groan. "That's why I'm gonna help you get to that point. Now then, let's begin," Khazhak says.

The sounds of fighting are heard as Khazhak begins training Jaune to become stronger.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Hope this works for everyone. One reviewer made me realize a few things so I hope something like this is a nice change in my story. Anyway, Reaper makes contact with Weiss, and Khazhak continues to Mistral with Ruby. What awaits our heroes in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	57. Chapter 52: Harsh Steel

**Here we are at Chapter 52. Let's see how the rest of Team KEPL is doing in their mission for Team RWBY. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 52. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 52: Harsh Steel**

… _In Anima…_

Everything is quiet in the early morning in the forests of Anima…right until Jaune Arc is seen crashing into a nearby tree, and falling to the ground, groaning in pain. A few feet away, Khazhak Rairyu is seen with his left arm extended, having punched Jaune into the tree. Khazhak relaxes his stance and walks over to Jaune.

"You dead yet?" Khazhak asks dismissively.

Jaune coughs a bit, "Ugh, you think you could ease up a little bit on your training? At this rate, I'll die before we even get half way to Mistral," he groans as he sits up.

"I am easing it up. If I wasn't, you'd be dead a long time ago. I haven't once used my blade against you. You haven't gotten strong enough to force me to use it yet. I told you that I would train you the same way my father taught me. I never said he was nice in my training," Khazhak says, crossing his arms.

Jaune slowly get back on his feet, "Yeah, I believe you, ugh, if your training is anything to go on. Come on, let's go again," Jaune says as he readies his shield and sword.

"…No, that's enough for today. We have a long walk ahead of us, and I am NOT going to carry you all the way there. You need to rest and regain your strength," Khazhak says as he turns and walks away.

"I have to get stronger!" Jaune suddenly yells out. "The people we're going after…the ones that killed Pyrrha. They're strong, and I need to be ready to fight them if I'm going to get justice for her," Jaune says.

Khazhak narrows his eyes and walks right back up to Jaune, only to backhand him back to the ground.

"What you are seeking isn't justice, it's revenge. And that is a fool's errand, Jaune. I once sought revenge, and it costed me my father. Porphyrius nearly made the same mistake. I won't be having you make that same mistake," Khazhak says.

"The mistake of what? Getting justice for Pyrrha?! I…I cared about her…so much…and they killed her. What am I supposed to do about that?!" Jaune yells.

Khazhak, however, remains calm, "…By stopping them. You still want to get revenge, then I won't stop you. But let's get one thing straight: I will not allow any unnecessary harm to come to Ruby. If your quest for revenge puts her in harm's way or worse…then it won't be Cinder Fall who kills you…It'll be me," Khazhak says, glaring at Jaune right in the eyes. "My mission is to protect Ruby. That's all that matters to me. But you're her friend, and she's lost enough friends, wouldn't you say," Khazhak says, making Jaune widen his eyes a bit and calm down, looking more regretful. "This isn't just about you, Jaune. This is about all of us. Remember that," Khazhak says as he finally turns and leaves, leaving Jaune to think on his words.

… _Meanwhile, in Patch…_

Khazhak's sworn brother, Lloyd Jyousai, stands in the shadows of the forest, watching over the Xiao-Long household, where his charge rests, seeing Taiyang Xiao Long walk into the home with several bags and boxes in his arms. He has been watching over this place ever since the Fall of Beacon, wondering when the time would be right. But now the time has come to make his move. He walks to one side of the house, looking through the windows without being noticed. He first looks into the living room, seeing Taiyang Xiao Long standing in the living room with a defeated expression, and an open box on the coffee table. Looking at the box, Lloyd sees a prosthetic right arm in the box, most likely for Yang. And he knows exactly where it came from.

 _"The only place to get an arm that advanced would be Atlas…Ironwood must have sent it for Yang. At least he FINALLY does something smart…Though it looks like Yang didn't want to put it on just yet. That is a problem,"_ Lloyd thinks.

Keeping an eye on the occupants inside without being seen, he watches as Yang sweeps the porch, gets the mail, and then cleans some dishes in the kitchen. He sees that her attire has changed from its usual flamboyant style. She has her hair up in a messy ponytail, and is wearing a gray jacket over an orange tank top that bears her hips. The jacket is tied at the right sleeve, indicating her missing arm which still has some bandages around the stump. The jacket's left sleeve shows her father's emblem, and she is also wearing gray-brown cargo pants, which show the rim of her dark undergarments. High on the left leg of her pants is a red shield-shaped patch with the imagery of three Ursa masks, and her emblem is stitch on her right thigh. When not wearing her jacket, the stump of her right arm shows itself being covered by a circular metallic plate. She is also wearing white sneakers.

Inside, Yang is washing a glass and takes it out of the sink in the kitchen, but then accidently drops it. However, when it hits the ground and breaks apart, Yang freaks out as she sees a sudden flash of Adam Taurus' mask followed by swing of his blade, making her stumble back against the counter behind her. She freaks out, gasping for air as she slowly tries to calm herself down. She slams her left fist on the counter, angry at herself, as she calms down. Meanwhile, her father watches on from the doorway, looking worried but decides to walk away, giving his daughter some space. Yang just takes a few deep breaths for a moment and then goes to clean up the broken glass. However, a tapping on the window over the sink gets her attention and she looks up to see a single finger tapping on the window, before beckoning her to come outside. She comes outside and onto the porch, and when she turns one corner, she finds Lloyd Jyousai leaning against the side of the house with his arms crossed.

"Well aren't you a sorry sight," he replies, glancing at her without his usual happy/joking demeanor from Beacon.

"Lloyd? What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in months? Where have you been?" she asks as she walks up to him.

"I've been here in Patch since the Fall of Beacon. Brother gave me orders to watch over you," he says.

"Khazhak? Where is he? And where are the others?" she asks.

"Well as far as I know, Reaper should be up in Atlas. Brother told him to go and watch over Weiss. Meanwhile, I was to stay here and watch over you, while Brother left with Ruby to head to Mistral. I haven't seen nor heard from them since," he says, leaning off the side of the house.

Yang looks down for a moment, "And…what about…Porphyrius?" she asks.

Lloyd looks out into the forest, "Porphyrius was sent to track down Blake. Believe me, he wanted to be here with you, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to help you in this situation, and that he'd have a better chance of finding her than any of us," Lloyd explains.

Yang clenches her fist," He shouldn't bother with her…She ran away from us…Again," she says, getting angry.

"Well unlike you, Brother looks at the bigger picture, and that bigger picture…is your sister, Ruby," he says, getting Yang's attention.

"What? What does she have to do with this?" she asks.

"Why should I tell you? You don't care about her anymore, from what I've seen," he replies, crossing his arms again.

"What's that supposed to mean? Of course I care about her," she retorts.

"You can do whatever you want. I'm just gonna lie here. Just leave me alone," Lloyd says, repeating the same words Yang once said to Ruby.

This shocks her, "H-How…How did you know that?" she asks.

Lloyd slowly walks up to her, "Brother was listening in on your conversation months ago, after she woke up. He heard every word, including the part where Ruby said she loved you…and you DIDN'T answer her back," Lloyd says, glaring at her. "From what he said and from what I can tell, you turned your back on Ruby, on your own family," Lloyd says, looking almost livid. Yang looks down as she remembers that time, and starts feeling guilty about it. "I find it hard to believe that Porphyrius would lose control of his semblance again because of someone so selfish and stupid," Lloyd says.

"Wait, what do mean Porphyrius lost control of his semblance. And what do you mean again?" she asks.

Lloyd thinks about it before deciding to answer, "After Adam Taurus sliced off your arm, you passed out and Blake stepped in front of you to protect you. Adam was about to kill her, but then Porphyrius and I stepped in. However, when Porphyrius saw what happened to you…He lost it…His anger at what Adam did to you made him go berserk, losing control of his semblance, and almost destroyed a part of the school. I was just barely able to knock him out to stop it," Lloyd begins, making Yang look down in horror. "Yang, the times you've seen Porphyrius use his semblance, his gravity shots. That wasn't the true form of his semblance," he confesses.

"Wait, what do you mean?" she asks, a little fearful.

"The eyepatch that he wears, it's not just because he lost his eye. The emblem on his eyepatch is actually a seal that limits the strength of his semblance, making it weaker so that he can control it more easily. What you've seen was only a portion of what his semblance can do. His semblance is not gravity shots…But the control of gravity around him. He's been working on getting better at it, but has only made little progress. The last time he lost control…an entire village was wiped off the face of Remnant," Lloyd explains.

Yang silently gasps, "Porphyrius…" she mutters.

"Only Brother was able to stop him that time, but now with our team separated, I'm worried about what will happen should he lose control again. His anger is returning, Yang, all because he saw you get hurt," he says.

"Then shouldn't you be out looking for him?!" she yells.

"Porphyrius can take care of himself. He cares about you, and that's why he's out there, looking for Blake. Besides, I told you, my orders are to stay here, watch over you, and help you get back on your feet. There are more important things going on right now," he says.

"Like what?" she asks.

"Like helping your sister, Ruby…Yang…your sister maybe Remnant's last hope against the Grimm, against those responsible for what happened in Vale. But, she can't do this on her own, and for that reason, has Brother separated our team to help yours…Because Ruby will need you in the near future," he says.

"What are you talking about?" she asks, confused.

"Forget it, I've said enough for now," he says and starts to walk away, but then looks back at her. "When the REAL Yang Xiao Long comes back, and is ready to help her family again, let me know, because I can't wait around forever. Your sister needs you, and time is running out," he says and leaves.

His words leave Yang conflicted about Porphyrius, but more importantly, about Ruby.

"Ruby…What is going on with you?" she mutters.

Meanwhile, Lloyd walks off into the distance, disappearing amongst the trees. He eventually finds a clearing with some large boulders lying around. He had actually set them up there earlier.

"Ugh, I need to get this bad taste out of my mouth. Let's get to work," Lloyd mutters, activating his semblance around his right arm, only this time small steel spikes appear all around his arm as it's encased in steel.

As Yang is about to return inside her home, she hears a loud boom go off, and looks off in the direction that Lloyd went. Back where Lloyd is, the large boulders that were there earlier have now been reduced to tiny pebbles littered all around him, as well as several large holes in the ground coming from him to where the boulders once were. Lloyd raises his right arm to stare at it as his semblance deactivates.

"I can't afford to fall behind. Hang in there for just a while longer, Brother. I'll be coming to you soon enough," Lloyd mutters.

… _Back with Ruby's group…_

Ruby's group continue to make their way to Mistral, with Ruby at the front with the map, Khazhak right behind her, and the rest of Team JNPR behind him.

"You keeping up with us Jauney-boy?' Khazhak calls out behind him.

Jaune rubs his head, "Ugh, I still have a headache from earlier. Maybe next time, you use your real arm instead of your metal one," he suggests.

"Where's the fun in that?" Khazhak replies, making Ruby snicker.

"So how much further before we make it to the next village?" Nora asks.

Ruby looks over the map, "Um, I think it's…uh huh…uh huuuh…I have no idea," she says.

Khazhak looks over it, "It's gonna be a while, that's what she's saying. So we'll be camping outside again tonight," he replies.

"Well, we'll have to find a spot to make camp soon. It's gonna start to get dark soon," Ren notes.

"Yeah, let's hurry," Jaune adds.

The group moves on, and after a while, they find a spot big enough for a camp site. There's just one problem, and that problem is black with bone armor. Ruby's group hide behind some bushes as they see a pack of Beowolves, eight of them, scoping out the area.

"Looks we'll have to take out those Grimm before we can rest up for the night. We'll have to make it quick though so they can't call out for any other Grimm if they're nearby," Khazhak says as he brings out his sword.

"Alright, I can take the two on the left. I'll be quick," Ruby says as she readies Crescent Rose.

"We'll take care of the four on the right. Khazhak, you take the two at the front," Jaune says.

"I take orders from Ruby, Jaune, not you. I'll take the three at the front. That leaves one for each of you. Remember, we need to be quick. Get ready," Khazhak retorts.

"3…2…1…Now!" Ruby says.

The group run out of the bushes, with Ren and Nora firing off their weapons first, taking out their targets. The rest of the pack is now on alert as they see their enemies and run at them. Ruby uses her semblance to zoom around them, slicing through the first one in half, followed by beheading the second one from its right side. Jaune blocks a few claw strikes with his shield, and then slashes his blade downwards at it, taking off its right arm. He then finishes it off with a quick thrust through its skull. Khazhak jumps into the air, swinging his sword downward through the body of one Beowolf, followed by a front kick at a second Grimm, forcing it onto the ground and swinging his sword to take its head off. He finishes the battle by grabbing the neck of the last Grimm, crushing it with his left hand. The group ease up with the battle over and watch as the bodies of the dead Grimm evaporate into nothing before holstering their weapons.

"Well, that was simple enough," Ruby notes.

"We'd better make sure there aren't any remaining Grimm around, or if these were just scouts, that the rest of the pack isn't nearby. I'll be back," Khazhak says.

"Don't take too long, Khazhak. And call us if you find any trouble," Ruby says.

Khazhak bows his head to her, "As you wish, Milady," he says before he leaves.

"Hold on, Khazhak," Jaune says, stopping him as he catches up to Khazhak. "I'll come with you. Let's go," he says. The two scout around, and luckily haven't found any signs of more Grimm around, much to their relief. After a while as they make their way back, Jaune decides to speak to Khazhak. "Listen, Khazhak, I…wanted to apologize," he says.

"For what?" Khazhak asks as they walk back, not bothering to look at him.

"For how I acted earlier. You were right. This isn't about me. I wasn't the only one that lost friends, that lost Pyrrha. It's not just me out here. It's you, me, Ren, Nora, and Ruby. We're all out here, fighting to make a difference and to find those responsible. And we can't let grudges get in the way of that. So, I'm sorry, and thanks for knocking some sense into me. Both figuratively, and literally," Jaune says.

Khazhak stops and finally looks at him, "I know you miss Pyrrha Jaune. We'll find those responsible for her death, and for the Fall of Beacon. But we have to take it one step at a time. Rush into it too much, and we'll burn out by the time the real battle begins. There are more lives at stake here, now more than ever with the Fall of Beacon. We'll get there soon enough. We just have to keep moving forward," he says.

"Yeah…Thanks Khazhak," Jaune replies.

"…And the next time you shoot your mouth off about looking for revenge and justice, I'll use your body as a baseball bat and swing you into every tree in this forest," Khazhak playfully threatens him as he walks off, making Jaune laugh nervously, knowing full well that Khazhak would do it, before he runs to catch up to him and they return to the others.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Khazhak continues to train Jaune in more ways than one, and Yang meets up with Lloyd. Since the others are gone and since the Fall of Beacon, let's just say that Lloyd really hasn't felt like making any jokes in a long while, hence the change in his demeanor. As for the advancement in his semblance, you'll learn more about that soon enough. Khazhak and Ruby continue their way to Mistral, and now only one member of each team has yet to make an appearance. Will Khazhak and the group make it to Haven? Will Lloyd succeed with his mission with Yang? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	58. Chapter 53: Gravity of Emotions

**Here we are at Chapter 53. Time for the last member of Team KEPL to join the party. Though, that won't exactly bode well for one of the members of Team RWBY. Let's see how it plays out. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 53. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 53: Gravity of Emotions**

… _In Atlas…_

Weiss reads through her lyrics for the songs she's supposed to sing at the concert her father is preparing for her, much to her dismay. After reading through it for some time, she breathes a heavy sigh and closes the book.

"Had enough of fighting the vocal battles for one day?" she hears behind her and looks back to see Reaper leaning against her bookcase. "I thought you enjoyed singing," he notes.

"I do, but my father has ruined that feeling for me. You and I both know that he only wants to do this just so he can raise money. He can lie about how he hurts for the people, and that he's there for them, but we both know that is a load of garbage," Weiss says as she goes to sit on her bed.

Reaper leans off the bookcase, "Yes. Ever since Ironwood's Dust embargo, the SDC has hit some obstacles in the money making business. Although, I'm sure your father will still try to sell Dust outside the kingdom through illegitimate means anyway. We all know how greedy he is," he notes as he walks to her.

Weiss sighs again, "Oh, I'm well aware…Reaper, you're not planning on…" Weiss trails off.

Reaper sighs and sits down next to her, "Believe me, I am VERY tempted to kill him and make him pay for what he did to Porphyrius' family, but first I would need evidence to prove he was connected to their murders. I checked his study when he wasn't around, but couldn't find anything. Khazhak searched for evidence before after he met Porphyrius, but came up empty-handed. While he is a cold-hearted, selfish, self-centered, egotistical see through son of a Grimm, I'll give him this much, he sure knows how to cover his tracks. He gets to live…for a little while longer," Reaper says.

Weiss glances away, "And what about Ironwood? I know you and your team don't have a high opinion about him," she asks.

"Ironwood's partially responsible for the Fall of Beacon. His incompetence allowed our enemies to get into Vale and into the Vytal Festival. He underestimated them and overestimated his machines, the same machines that our enemies took control of and used to further the divide between the kingdoms. He was head of security for the tournament, and yet nothing was secure in the whole thing. He thought he could do what he BELIEVED we couldn't, and he failed. And because he failed, innocent people are DEAD," Reaper says, his anger low but quite noticeable to Weiss.

Weiss looks down sadly, "…I miss Beacon. I miss my team. While yes, there were times when they drove me crazy…I felt more at home there than I ever did here," she laments.

"You could always go find them. Your teammates. I did tell you that Ruby is heading for Mistral once before," Reaper suggests.

"I know what you said, but I…I'm just…" she trails off as she fails to say what she feels.

Reaper stands up, "I also told you that I can't force you to go. You must go of your own free will. What I suggest you do first…is find the real you. The REAL Weiss Schnee. Perhaps then, you will discover the answer you seek," he offers to her, making Weiss think for a moment before she looks out her bedroom window.

… _Meanwhile, in an ocean southeast of Vale…_

A large passenger ship sails peacefully as the sun begins to set in the sky. Walking out from below deck, Porphyrius Darkwing in his new attire. He walks around the ship, keeping a black cloak around his figure with a hood up to hide his face. He eventually comes to one side of the ship, eyeing his target, one that had eluded him for months.

 _"Finally found you, Blake Belladonna,"_ he mentally notes as his fists clench.

He sees that Blake Belladonna has also changed her attire. She is now wearing a long white coat with dark gray lining and a sleeveless black crop top, which has rectangular and diamond shaped cutouts around the neckline. She is also wearing a white belt over black fitted pants. Across her torso is a diagonal strap that contains a smaller magnetic clip used to sheathe her weapon, Gambol Shroud. She has on thigh-high black heeled boots with gold-colored edging around the top. The left boot has a belt wrapped twice around the thigh. Each boot bears her belladonna emblem in white on the outer side of the thigh, and a white pouch is attached to the back of her belt. She also no longer has her bow on, showing her cat ears out in the open.

Porphyrius is about to confront her, but then notices someone up on the level above them, appearing to by watching over Blake as well, though they're covered by a brown cloak. He narrows his eye at the figure before his focus is then turned to the ocean, noticing something big, and black, coming up from the water's surface.

"Oh great," Porphyrius mutters, glancing to the side to see Blake notice the same thing.

The black mass rises from the deep, revealing itself to be a large Grimm Sea Dragon. Blake grits her teeth and runs forward, doing on front flip before jumping onto the railing and then jumping off it, straight at the Grimm. Using her semblance, she makes a shadow clone swing her straight to the Grimm's head. Next, she throws her blade, in its chain-scythe form, making the blade imbed itself in the Grimm's body, and uses it to swing around to its back. She pulls it back, and the fires off a few shots at the Grimm's face, agitating it. The Grimm roars and swims through the water to attack the ship as Blake lands back on it. At the helm of the ship, the captain moves it hard right to avoid the collision. The Grimm moves around the top of the ship while Blake fires more shots at it before diving back into the ocean. The ships sides open up, revealing several ship guns for defense. The Sea Dragon reappears and Blake jumps at it, swinging her blade twice at its nose and then throws it in chain-scythe form to impale itself in its face, using it to propel her over its head. The ship's guns fire at the Grimm, the shots hitting its body, and knocking Blake back onto the deck of the ship. She tries to get up, but falls back down as she clutches her left arm in pain. She looks up just as the sea dragon comes to swallow her whole, only for Porphyrius, still in his black cloak, to suddenly shoot up and punch the Grimm in the jaw, knocking it back somehow. He lands near Blake, who looks at him, but is unable to see his face.

"Who are you?!" Blake yells.

"Took me a while to find you Blake," Porphyrius says as he removes his cloak, revealing himself to her. "I can't tell you how annoying it was tracking you down," he says, showing his weapon already activated.

"Porphyrius?!" Blake yells in shock.

Porphyrius looks to his left when he hears some noise. On the front deck of the ship, a large cannon with a long barrel comes out, ready to fire. The Sea Dragon looks at the ship, and then folds its fins back to allow two large, red dragon wings to sprout out from its back, allowing it to fly into the sky. The heavy cannon fires a shot, but the dragon evades it. The dragon opens its mouth and prepares a breath attack for the ship. Blake gets ready to move, but the second hooded figure from before jumps on top of her.

"Hey!" Blake shouts.

The figure jumps off her, taking off its cloak and revealing themselves to be Sun Wukong. Sun smiles as he gets into a crossed leg stance in mid-air, smiling as he uses his semblance to send out two Sun clones at the dragon.

"SUN!" Blake says, shocked that he's here.

"Oh great, banana breath's here now, too," Porphyrius mutters in annoyance.

Sun and his two clones grab onto the Grimm's head, moving it up to keep it from attacking the ship.

"Not today, pal!" Sun yells as he stand on the dragon's head while his clones hold its whiskers.

The dragon fires a yellow lightning breath attack that misses the ship.

Blake looks at Porphyrius, "Why'd you bring him with you?!" she asks.

"Oh please, you honestly think I'd team up with him? I had no idea he was here," Porphyrius replies as he watches Sun.

Back in the fight, The dragon flies sporadically in the air, releasing a little lightning from its mouth to shock Sun and knock him off. Sun falls to the surface, but luckily, Blake jumps up and uses her chain-scythe to swing her into the air to catch Sun and land on one of the large rock formations nearby, carrying him bridal style.

"My hero," Sun jokes.

"You're not supposed to be here!" Blake angrily yells.

"Yeah? Well, it looks like you could use all the help you can get," Sun notes.

The sea dragon comes at them again, only for Porphyrius to fire some shots at his face, getting its attention. The sea dragon fires off another breath attack at him, but he jumps around the rock formations to evade it. He then jumps right at the dragon, and suddenly the blades on his weapon arms spin 180 degrees, having the purple spikes from behind swing to the front, while the rifle barrels retract back. Blake then sees purple energy being emitted from his weapon arms, and then Porphyrius suddenly punches the dragon in the face again, knocking it into the water. While that did shock her, what shocked her even more was exactly how he punched the Grimm. It was a technique she knew all too well.

 _"That…That was one of Yang's techniques. Is he fighting just like her as well now?"_ Blake wonders.

Porphyrius then lands in front of them, "If you two are done, we have a Grimm to kill here," he says, keeping his eye trained on their enemy.

"Well, still don't need my help?" Sun jokes as he asks Blake.

Blake groans and drops Sun on the ground, "Ugh! Just shut up and fight!' she says and moves ahead along with Porphyrius, jumping on different large rocks to get back to the Dragon.

"Yes, mam!" Sun replies, still sitting on the ground.

Blake and Porphyrius fire off some combined shots at the dragon, angering it and making it swing its tail around to knock them into the water, only for the two to jump over the attack and it only destroying more rock formations above the water. Blake throws her chain-scythe at Porphyrius, who grabs it and swings her around to deal a few slashes along the side of the dragon. As she falls back down to the ship, the dragon tries to eat her, only for Sun to come in and swing his staff around to knock its head back. Blake lands on the ship, and is joined by Sun and Porphyrius.

"Huntsmen!" he hears behind him and looks to see the captain and one of his crewmembers. "If you can clip its wings and draw it out towards the bow, we can take it!" he shouts.

Porphyrius stares at the dragon, "I have a better idea," he says, and fires a few Dark Void Anchor shots at Blake's limbs, forcing her onto the ground.

"AH! What are you doing!?" she shouts, angry.

"That way, you can't run away again…Like you did back at Beacon when you abandoned your teammates," he says, glaring at her. This makes her lose her anger and adopt a fearful look. "Just sit there and watch as a REAL warrior handles this," he says and jumps off the ship.

Sun tries to help Blake, "How do you even get rid of these things?" he says as he tries pulling them off, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Blake watches as Porphyrius jumps between different rock formations around the dragon, firing his assault rifle weapon arms at the dragon's head, agitating it. The dragon swings its tail around, hoping to hit Porphyrius, but only succeeds in destroying the rocks around it. Porphyrius latches onto the dragon's tail and begins running along its body as he continues to fire his guns at its face. The dragon swings its body upward, forcing Porphyrius into the air, and then tries to eat him whole. However, Porphyrius' weapons spin around again into their new form (I call it the fighter mode). Porphyrius rears back his left arm, purple energy growing around it, and when it gets close, smashes it into the right side of the dragon's skull, pushing it back and making it crash into a rock formation behind it. Porphyrius lands on one rock formation in front of it and then his body starts glowing with purple energy around him. The dragon recovers and attacks him again, but Porphyrius jumps onto its head before propelling himself high into the air. He switches his weapons back into their forward position and, the energy appearing again, falls incredibly fast towards the dragon, blades in front as he starts spinning like a drill.

"Dark Void…XENODRIVER!" he yells as purple energy encompasses his body.

The dragon fires another breath attack at him, but he drills right through it, going through the dragon's skull and bursting out on the other side of its body, killing it. Porphyrius lands hard on one rock formation, causing it to shatter and fall into the sea, but he jumps off it and lands back on the ship. Blake, Sun, and the ship's crew can only watch in awe as Porphyrius had just taken out a Grimm Sea Dragon on his own in such a tremendous display of power. Porphyrius snaps his fingers, which deactivates his gravity shots, releasing Blake. Meanwhile, the crewmembers cheer at the defeat of the Grimm.

Sun looks between Porphyrius and Blake, "Woo! Up top!" he says, raising his hand to Blake for a high-five.

However…Blake just goes to SLAP him in the face. A while later, with the sun set below the horizon, Blake stands next to the ship's railing while Porphyrius leans against a wall next to her, arms crossed. They both watch as Sun calms the worries of a few of the ship's passengers.

"Seriously, it was no big deal. Just enjoy the rest of your ship and everything will be cool. We got this," he waves them goodbye and walks back to the other two, resting his hands behind his head. Sun sighs, "You'd think they'd never seen a fight before," he says.

"What are you doing here, Sun?" she asks, hand on her hip.

"Digging the new outfit by the way. Never did like the bow," he says, pointing at her cat ears.

"SUN!" she yells, knocking his hand away.

"Jeez," he replies.

"Have you been following me?!" she says, looking livid.

Sun looks away and then sighs before looking back, "I saw you run off…The night Beacon Tower fell," he admits, making her lose her angry expression. "Once we landed in Vale, you made sure everyone was okay…and then you just took off without saying anything," he says.

Blake rests her arms on the railing, "I had to. You wouldn't understand," she says.

"Understand what? That you've proven once again that you're nothing but selfish COWARD, who would willingly abandon her own friends to save her own skin," Porphyrius joins in, looking annoyed.

"That is NOT it at all!" Blake retorts.

Porphyrius stands straight up, "Don't play dumb. You've always CHOSEN to run away from your problems rather than face them. You said so yourself back at Mountain Glenn. And just when I thought you were starting to outgrow that problem of yours," Porphyrius counters back, making Blake look away.

"Hey! Back off Porphyrius. She's not a coward, and I DO understand why she's here," she says, getting Blake's attention.

"What?" Blake asks.

"The moment you left, I knew exactly what you were doing," he begins, making Blake smile. "…You're going on a one woman rampage against the White Fang!" Sun shouts, thinking he's got it right.

However, this makes Blake gawk at him, "What?" she ask, confused.

Porphyrius facepalms, "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," he mutters, shaking his head.

"You've always tried to take care of the White Fang yourself, but that's not gonna help, so I'm here to help you do it. The more the merrier, as they say. Besides, Us Faunus gotta stick together after all. Right Porphyrius?" Sun looks at the half-Faunus.

"Oh, please, don't group me with HER," Porphyrius says, pointing at Blake.

"You're wrong, Sun. You're so, SO wrong," Blake says, pushing him away and walking back a few feet.

"What do you-," he begins.

Blake holds her left arm, "I'm not going anywhere NEAR the White Fang, not yet," she confesses.

"There it is," Porphyrius mutters, rolling his eye.

"Seriously?" Sun asks.

"I need to sort some things out," she says.

"Then why not do it with your TEAM? Your FRIENDS!?" Sun asks.

Blake turns around to face him, "You're one to talk, assuming Neptune, Sage, and Scarlet aren't hiding below deck," Blake counters.

"You really think I could get Neptune on a ship?" Sun begins as he walks up to sit on the railing next to her. "They flew back to Mistral. I told them I'd catch up. Not the first time I left them to take a BOAT," he says.

"And that reminds me, where are the rest of your team, Porphyrius?" Blake asks as she looks at Porphyrius.

He walks up to them, "They're not here. I haven't seen, nor heard from any of them since the Fall of Beacon," he says.

"What? Why?" she asks.

Porphyrius crosses his arms again, "Khazhak gave me orders to track you down, and to watch over you. He sent Reaper to Atlas to watch over Weiss…and had Lloyd remain behind in Patch to watch over Yang…Meanwhile, Khazhak left Patch with Ruby," he says.

"Left? Why would Ruby leave Patch?! Why after what happened to…to Yang," Blake says, remembering how Yang lost her arm.

"Why do you care? You already turned your back on your teammates, TWICE. So why should I tell you?" he asks, glaring at her.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?! Of course I care about them! That's why I…That's why I…" she says, losing her anger and looking away.

Porphyrius groans and rolls his eye, "If you MUST know, Khazhak left with Ruby because Ruby went after the people responsible for what happened in Vale and at Beacon. Unlike YOU, your leader hasn't given up on the fight. But that's not the reason Khazhak separated our team to watch over yours," he says as he walks up to the railing in between Blake and Sun.

"What do you mean?" she asks again.

"I'm not telling. At least not yet anyway," he says.

"And why not?" she asks, getting a little aggravated.

"Because the other part of my mission is to help you get back in the fight, to help Ruby. But, if you're not gonna help her, then there's no point in me telling you. What I can say is that the longer you're away from her, the more danger she's in," Porphyrius says.

"What? That's crazy! Ruby shouldn't have-UGH!" Blake starts, but then stops when Porphyrius deals a hard punch to her stomach, making her fall to the ground in pain.

"Blake! What the Hell, Porphyrius!" Sun yells.

However, a purple flame appears on Porphyrius' eyepatch as he narrows his one eye at Sun, making a heavy pulse of gravity force Sun onto the ground.

"Sun! Why are you doing this Porphyrius?!" Blake gasps.

"Because I have a problem with cowards like you. And that punch was payback for what you did to Yang," he says. Blake can only look on, terrified. "It's your fault what happened to Yang, and I will NEVER forgive you for that. Believe me, a part of me want you DEAD for that…" he begins, but then calms down as his power dissipates. "But…That would go against my reason for being here. Ruby needs you alive, and Yang needs you too. That's why Khazhak sent me, and he has never steered me wrong before," he says as the two get up. "I don't see you as a friend anymore Blake. You lost that privilege. But, if you die, that would hurt Ruby and Yang, and that is the ONLY reason I won't kill you. However, that doesn't mean I'm letting you run away again, so wherever you go, I go," he says. Blake can only look on in shock as Sun walks up to stand next to her. "I'm not convinced you still care about your friends, but I know they still care about you. Remember that. Anyway, with that out of the way, what's the plan?" he asks.

Blake sighs before she looks back out to the water, "I'm going home…To Menagerie," she says.

"Well, in that case, I'm going with you," Sun suddenly says, getting their attention. Then he gets serious, "The Grimm are getting worse, you saw it yourself. And just because you're not going after the Fang, doesn't mean they won't be coming for you," he points out.

"There's really no stopping you?" Blake asks him.

"Nope!" he says, showing a big smile and a peace sign. "This is gonna be great! Never been to Menagerie before. It'll be a regular journey to the east," Sun says, getting excited.

Blake looks back at Porphyrius, "And you'll just follow me anyway, won't you?" she asks.

"I've been tracking you for over half a year. You really think I'm gonna let you out of my sight now?" he rhetorically asks, making her sigh. "Alright, next stop, Menagerie," he says as they look out into the night sky.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Porphyrius has finally caught Blake, and made it very clear how he feels about her now. As for his semblance, his control over gravity has gotten stronger, now able to use it to enhance his punches, and even use it to springboard off of things and increase his own gravitational force, hence the sudden drop from the sky when he killed the sea dragon. Anyway, now all of the members of Team KEPL are with Team RWBY. Now begins the next phase of their mission. Will they succeed? Will Blake survive Porphyrius' wrath? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	59. Chapter 54: Family

**Here we are at Chapter 54. This will be another long one. Let's continue the story with Khazhak, Ruby, and the others as they continue on their journey. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 54. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 54: Family**

Lloyd Jyousai is on his way back to the Xiao Long household for another round of watching over Yang, when he is greeted by a pleasant surprise, sort of.

"Lloyd Jyousai, is that you?" he hears off to the side and looks to see Professor Port and Dr. Oobleck approach him. "My, it is you. It has been some time since I've seen you or any of your teammates. How have you've been?" Port says as the teachers greet him.

"Professor Port. Dr. Oobleck. It's been a while. I'm fine, just going to visit Yang again," Lloyd greets them.

"Again? You've been visiting her more than once? I guess it's good to have friends around given her condition," Oobleck notes.

"I'm mainly doing it because Brother gave me orders to watch over Yang while he and the others are away. I'm not here for a pity case," Lloyd retorts.

"You mean Khazhak? Um, where is Mr. Rairyu?" Port asks.

"With Ruby, and the rest of my team are away on their own missions, one that Brother gave them. That's all I'm saying on the matter," Lloyd replies.

"I…I see. Well then, since we're all going to see Yang and her father, why don't we all go together, haha," Port says.

"Yay," Lloyd deadpans, not liking that idea.

… _Meanwhile, back in Anima…_

Back in Anima, Team RJNR and Khazhak continue their trek to Mistral through more forest as it starts to get dark, with Ruby in front holding the map.

"Come on guys. If we pick up the pace, we can hit the next town before sunset," Ruby says.

"Assuming it's still there," Jaune says, Khazhak then smacks his head with his left hand. "OW! Did you have to smack me with your metal hand?!" he whines.

"Thinking like that doesn't help Jaune. So knock it off," Khazhak says.

"Khazhak's right, it WILL be there. This one's supposed to be pretty big. Hi-gan-B-bana," she tries to pronounce the village name.

"Higanbana. The village has good protection, and from what I heard, a decent inn to rest at," Khazhak corrects her.

"Which means no camping in the rain," Nora adds with joy.

"See, everything's gonna be fine," Ruby encourages Jaune.

"We all knew that this journey wouldn't be easy, but that doesn't mean that every part of it is going to be too difficult. Let's be thankful for that," Khazhk notes.

"Agreed," Ren says.

"I guess our luck is finally turning around. To Higanbana!" Nora cheers, with the others besides Khazhak joining her.

Khazhak then stops, making them all stop, as he glances behind them towards some cliffs behind and above them.

"Khazhak, what is it? Is there something wrong?" Ruby asks.

Khazhak looks for a moment longer before turning to her, "No Milady. Nothing's wrong. I guess I'm just a little on edge from all the fighting we've done recently. Let us continue towards the village," he says, and they keep going, but not before Khazhak looks back out of the corner of his eye one more time.

On the cliffs behind them, a Beowolf walks to edge, growling. Just as it's about to jump after them, a large sword suddenly gets thrusted through its chest. The blade gets removed as the Grimm dies, with its killer revealed to be Qrow Branwen, Ruby's uncle, standing behind it, resting his sword on his left shoulder. Behind him are the evaporating bodies of several other dead Grimm. He hears a caw sound and looks up into a tree to see a crow perched on one of its branches before it flies off as thunder can be heard in the clouds.

"Pfft. Luck," he mutters.

Suddenly, another Beowolf jumps up from behind him, about to attack him, until it gets sliced in half from behind. Qrow glances behind him to see Voshkie'ahk Ryukado as the culprit, wearing some new clothing. She is still wearing the same white strands of cloth in some of her hair. Voshkie'ahk is now wearing a white shirt with gold lining, with a portion that exposes the front of her stomach. She is wearing detached white sleeves with gold edging on her arms. Over her arms is a short white cloak, gold on the inside, with gold dragon images on it along with her dragon card emblem in the center. The cloak is kept together by a gold chain that rests over her chest. She also has on a short white skirt, with a long tailcoat over it that's white on the outside and gold on the inside. She has on thigh-high white heeled boots with gold edging, over a pair of black thigh-length socks that end just above the boots. Black garters connect the socks to under her skirt. On her thighs are a pair of black card cases to hold her Dust cards. In her right hand is one of her Dust swords, made from three Dust cards fused together and a white sword handle with gold gems on the hilt. Voshkie'ahk walks up to stand next to Qrow on his right, watching over Ruby's group with a forlorn expression.

"You know, you could go say hi to him. He is your brother, after all," Qrow suggests.

Voshkie'ahk shakes her head, "I can't. It…It isn't the right time. Besides, I don't have much right to be his sister anymore," she says sorrowfully.

"You'd be better off with them than me. You know it's dangerous to stay close to me for too long," he warns her.

"I'll be fine. I've stuck with you this long. Not about to stop now," she says.

Qrow sighs, "Fine. Let's go," he says and walks off.

"As you wish, Master Qrow," she says, and follows him. "I don't need you trying to talk me into this too. It's not as simple as you think," Voshkie'ahk suddenly whispers to no one in particular, which Qrow doesn't notice.

… _Back in Patch…_

Yang gasps as she suddenly wakes up in her home, safe, and on her bed in the middle of the night. She looks to her left to see the prosthetic arm that Ironwood sent to her on a wooden table, still not being worn by her. Her mind drifts until she hears laughing coming from downstairs. Putting on her jacket and sneakers, she walks down the stairs to see her father, along with Dr. Oobleck, Professor Port, and Lloyd in the kitchen, laughing. The two teachers are sitting in chairs at the kitchen table, while Taiyang leans against a countertop and Lloyd leans against a wall behind Port.

"And then, in comes Qrow, wearing a SKIRT! I was just a T.A., and I didn't know what to do, so I just, I just left the room to LAUGH!" Port tells his story, making the other men laugh as Yang leans in on the doorway.

"Yeah, we'd told him it was a kilt. He had never worn a uniform before, so he didn't know!" Taiyang says.

Oobleck laughs while holding his drink, "Hahaha! That is terrible! What is wrong with you?!" he says.

"Hey! The girls all said he had nice legs! I did that jerk a favor! Besides, that's not even the best part. See, then we-," he begins until Port lays his right leg on the kitchen table.

"Like what you see," he imitates Qrow, making them all laugh harder, but Port loses his balance and falls onto the floor, which only make them laugh even harder.

Seeing this actually makes Yang giggle, which gets their attention. Oobleck and Port stand up and compose themselves.

"Oh, uh, Miss Xiao Long. Please, join us," Port offers.

"Oh, yes, yes! Uh, pull up a chair. Please, pull up a chair," Oobleck says as Yang walks behind him.

"I'm good," she says and sits on the counter top next to Taiyang. She then looks at Lloyd, "Surprised to see you here, Lloyd, though I did see you the other day," she says.

Lloyd shrugs his shoulders, "I bumped into them while they were on their way here. Asked me to come along, and so I did," he says.

"Yes, it was good to see you were doing well, Mr. Jyousai. Though I must confess, I'm concerned that I haven't seen any of your teammates. I hope they're doing alright," Oobleck says.

"They're fine. They can takes care of themselves," he replies.

"Uh, yes, Mr. Jyousai also informed us that he's been keeping an eye on you lately. It's nice to have friends nearby in these dangerous times," Port adds.

Lloyd frowns, "Don't insult me. I don't make friends with quitters," he says, glaring at Yang. And the mood in the home quickly sours. "So, you want to tell them why you haven't put the arm on yet, Yang?" Lloyd questions her on the spot.

Yang looks between him and their teachers.

"Actually, we have been wondering about that. Your father informed us that you received a new arm from General Ironwood," Port says.

"Oh, yes, yes! A piece of Atlas technology being given out like that is rare indeed, not to mention the effort it took into delivering it here. It seems a great many people want to see you return to normal," Oobleck says.

Yang looks away, sad, "I'm…scared. Everyone talks about me getting back to normal, and I appreciate it. But…THIS…is normal now," she says, gesturing to what's left of her right arm. "It's just taking me a while to get used to it," she says sadly.

"Well, normal is what you make of it," her father says, getting her attention.

"What is that supposed to mean? Do want me to just PRETEND like nothing happened? I lost a PART of me. A piece of me is GONE, and it's never coming back," Yang says.

"…Your right. It's not coming back," Taiyang says, lowering his head with his eyes closed. But then he opens them and raises his head. "But that doesn't have to stop you from becoming who you want to be. You're YANG. XIAO. LONG. My sunny little dragon. You can do whatever you put your mind to," he says, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. "So whenever you're ready to stop MOPING, and get back out there…I'll be there for you," he says, pointing at her.

Yang looks away, "…I…I-," she begins.

"PATHETIC," Lloyd suddenly says, gaining their attention.

"What?" Yang asks.

Lloyd leans off the wall, "You're seriously going to let your FEAR control you. Last time I checked, only Blake did that," he says as he slowly walks to her. "You've got a new arm ready and waiting, and yet you're too scared to fight! Have you forgotten what the Atlas Military did to me?!" he says, getting angry as he rips of his right arm like before, throwing it on the table. The action spooks everyone a little bit, but it spooks Taiyang the most since he didn't know. "I lost my arms, but I gained new ones. However, they took something from me that can NEVER be replaced…They took my memories. I can't remember if I had a home. I can't remember if I had a family. I can't remember my own damn NAME!" Lloyd yells as he gets in Yang's face. "I lost everything, but it was thanks to Brother that I got my life back. I would lay down my life for him, and we're not even related. Khazhak is the ONLY family I've got left. You have no idea how lucky you are Yang. You have a father that loves you, an uncle that loves you, a mother who's at least out there somewhere…" he says before grabbing his right arm and reattaching it to his body. "…But most of all, you got a sister, who is out there, fighting for YOU! A sister who is willing to fight, and die, for you, even though it's obvious you don't care about her anymore after you pushed her away!" Lloyd shouts.

"That's not true. I DO care about Ruby!" Yang tries to defend herself.

"Then WHY are you still HERE?! Even if she lost both arms, Ruby would still fight for you. She lost more than any one of us, including you, at the Fall of Beacon, and yet she got right back on her feet and got right back into the fight. She has proven that she still loves you, but it is clear to me that you don't feel the same way about her," he says.

At this point, Taiyang steps in, "Alright that's enough. Lloyd, I think you need to step outside and cool off," he says.

Lloyd looks at him and then back at Yang and grunts, "I pity them," he says.

Yang narrows her eyes, "Who?" she asks.

"Porphyrius and Ruby. I pity Porphyrius for developing feelings for an idiot like you…But I pity Ruby even more…for being related to a selfish COWARD like you," he says coldly and turns to leave, but stops as the doorway without looking back. "You can't let your fear control you Yang. Blake already made that mistake. Are you going to do the same?" he asks before looking back at her. "And for the record, you're not the only one that lost a LIMB at the Fall of Beacon," he says and leaves to head outside.

The others look on, but Yang thinks on his words, _"Porphyrius…has feelings for me? And what did he mean by losing a limb? Did someone else lose an arm like me?"_ she wonders before lowering her head.

"Yang," Port says, gaining her attention. "What Lloyd said about fear is correct. Fear is like any other emotion. It comes and goes. It's all in how you handle it," Port encourages her, hand on his chest. "Why, even I find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time," he admits.

"Really? You?" she says, not quite buying it.

"He's afraid of mice," Oobleck whispers, but Port hears him.

"They bring only disease and FAMINE!" Port shouts, slamming his right fist on the table. This actually makes Yang giggle again, regaining her cheery attitude. "And don't even get me started on their TAILS!" he continues.

Meanwhile, Taiyang watches, happy, at seeing his daughter laugh again. A few minutes later, Yang begins to walk up the stair back to her room.

"Goodnight," she says and heads back to her room.

However, when she enters her room, her eyes drift back to the prosthetic arm, losing her smile as her thoughts drift back to her conversation with her father, teachers, and Lloyd. She then hears the front door open and voices outside and walks up to the window, hiding just enough so she won't be seen, but can still listen in. She sees her father, Lloyd, Port, and Oobleck outside, talking.

"…I guess you're heading back. I know that Beacon is still a huge mess right now," Lloyd notes.

"Don't worry, We'll get it fixed up soon enough," Oobleck replies.

"I hesitate to ask, but…Is there any word from young Miss Rose?" Port asks, concerned.

"…Not yet," Taiyang shakes his head as Yang listens in.

"Have you thought about going after her? Try to bring her home?" Oobleck asks, while Taiyang clenches his left fist.

Taiyang breathes a heavy sigh, "I've got to…look after some things," he says solemnly as he glances back at Yang's window, making her step back to hide.

This make Yang look away, dejected, until she listens in again.

"And what about you, Lloyd? Have you heard anything from your other teammates, or from Khazhak? I must admit, I'm concerned about him after he…Well-," Port begins, unable to finish.

Lloyd crosses his arms, "Brother lost his entire left arm at the Fall of Beacon. You can say it," he says, shocking Yang at hearing this. "Believe me, there are places I'd rather be right now but…" he says and glances back at Yang's window. "I have my orders. I am to remain here and watch over Yang. Brother believes that Ruby will need her in the near future, so I will watch over her, get her back in the fight, and keep her alive. Reaper was sent to watch over Weiss and Porphyrius was sent to track down Blake. Brother believes that Ruby will need all of them soon, so that's what we will do," he says and looks at Taiyang. "But know this Taiyang, even if he's only got one arm, Brother will not allow ANYONE to harm Ruby. I know my brother, and I know he'll protect her with his life. No matter the cost," he says as Yang listens intensely.

This makes Yang turn away and sink onto the floor, _"This whole time, Dad has been worried about Ruby…but he couldn't go after her…because he had to look after me. I held him back and came between them. How could I be so stupid?!"_ Yang shakes her head in shame, but then her thoughts drift elsewhere as she looks at her missing right arm. _"Khazhak is just like me. He lost an arm like ME, and yet he still left to fight…to protect Ruby even though he was hurt…And all I did was push her away even though she was just trying to help me,"_ she thinks and then looks at the prosthetic arm. _"I am SO sorry…Ruby…"_

… _Back in Anima…_

Later that night, as rain falls onto the village of Higanbana, Ruby's group enters the inn and manages to get a few rooms. However, Khazhak looks out the window, gazing across the street to a local tavern nearby, as if he feels he's being watched. However, he turns away a moment later to follow Ruby and the others to their rooms. In the tavern, Qrow sits in a table that allows him to peer out the window, watching Ruby's group go to their rooms. In a seat across from him, Voshkie'ahk sits with her legs crossed, gracefully drinking a cup of tea that the tavern provided her with her eyes closed. The tavern has wooden rectangular lamps on each table to give the guests some light. A moment later, waitress wearing a red East Asian outfit, with needles in her hair, brings a glass drink and places it on the table next to Qrow.

Qrow looks at the waitress, "Oh, I didn't uh-," he says, gesturing to the glass.

"From the woman upstairs. Red eyes. Said you wouldn't mind bottom shelf," she replies, and the three look up to the second floor.

Qrow turns around, "Thanks," he says.

The waitress leans in, "But…I went ahead and gave you top. Lucky you," she says while winking at him before she walks away.

Qrow smiles as she leaves, but then Voshkie'ahk rolls her eyes.

"I'll never understand why some woman faun over you," she says.

"It's my natural charm," Qrow replies a little confidently.

"What's that, Bourbon?" she jokes, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, I make the jokes here kid. You treat your 'master' like this?" he replies.

"Only if it means protecting women from you…Master," she says.

"Ouch, and I thought your brother was harsh. Anyway…" he says as he looks back up to the second floor.

The two then walk up the stairs to the second floor, and quickly see Qrow's sister, Raven Branwen, sitting at a table down the walkway, with her Grimm mask on the table.

Raven smiles at him, "Hello, brother," she greets him, though there is hardly any real love and affection that can be felt between the two siblings.

"…Raven," he greets back at the two walk over to her, each pulling up a chair.

However, before they sit down, Qrow stares at Raven's mask on the table. Raven rolls her eyes, sighs, and pulls the mask away to allow them to sit, with Qrow sitting across from her and Voshkie'ahk sitting in between them, still sipping her tea. Raven looks at Voshkie'ahk.

"A little too young for you, don't you think, Qrow?" she jokes.

"He should be so lucky," Voshkie'ahk replies, opening one eye to look at Raven. "A 'pleasure' to finally make your acquaintance, Raven Branwen. Master Qrow has told me about you, and your link with my brother," she says.

Raven grunts, "So you're Khazhak's sister. I can see a resemblance, though you lack the look of a killer in your eyes, like him. He's got potential, though he's sorely misguided," she says, making Voshkie'ahk narrow her eye at her before going back to her drink.

Then Qrow joins in, "So, what do you want?" he asks.

"A girl can't just catch up with her family?" she says, raising her hands.

"She CAN, but you're NOT. Now how about we get on with it?" he says and sips his drink. "…Unless you plan on keeping these coming," he says and puts down his glass.

"…Does she have it?" Raven asks, making Voshkie'ahk open her eyes to stare at her.

Voshkie'ahk narrows her eyes a bit, "Isn't there something else you should be asking, like how your daughter is doing. Do you know that she lost her arm at the Fall of Beacon?" she asks.

Raven glares at her, "I wasn't talking to you, and that's not what I-," she begins.

"Rhetorical question, we know you KNOW. It's just obnoxious that you'd bring up family and then carry on like your own DAUGHTER doesn't exist," Qrow interrupts her, looking a little angry.

"I SAVED her," Raven retorts.

Qrow raises his left arm, "ONCE. Because that was your rule, right? Real 'mom of the year' material, sis," he counters.

Raven then grabs his left arm, and a second later Voshkie'ahk has her right hand out, a card in between her index and middle finger, with the edge of the card aimed at Raven's throat.

"I see, she's not your girlfriend, she's your lapdog," Raven taunts them with a smirk.

"Voshkie'ahk, that's enough," Qrow orders her, and Voshkie'ahk eventually relents.

Raven then let's go of Qrow's arm, "I told you Beacon would fall and it DID. I told you Ozpin would fail, and he HAS. Now you tell me. Does. Salem. Have it?" she asks.

"I thought you weren't interested in all of that," Qrow replies.

"I just want to know what we're up against," Raven says, looking a little anxious.

"…And which 'WE' are you referring to?" he asks, showing a little antagonism towards his sister.

Raven gets angry and grunts in response.

" _Sheesh, the first time I saw Khazhak after five years, I fought against him, but the animosity at this table far supersedes that,"_ Voshkie'ahk mentally notes, sipping her tea again.

Qrow sighs and grabs his glass, "You should come back, Raven. The only way we'd beat her is by working together. ALL of us," he says, shaking his glass a little.

"You're the one who left. The tribe raised us and you turned your back on them," she replies, venom in her voice.

Qrow drinks his glass, "…They were killers and thieves," he counters.

"They were your FAMILY," Raven retorts.

"That's rich, coming from the woman who abandoned her own daughter right after she was born," Voshkie'ahk notes with disgust.

Raven stands up raises her left hand to her chest, "I lead our people now. And as leader I will do EVERYTHING in my power to ensure our survival," she declares.

"I saw. The people of Shion saw too," Qrow says, making Voshkie'ahk narrow her eyes in disgust at Raven.

"The weak die. The strong live. Those are the rules," Raven replies.

"Well, you've certainly got someone strong on your side. Voshkie'ahk and I have seen the damage," Qrow notes, narrowing his eyes at Raven a little bit.

Raven turns around and crosses her arms, "We couldn't have known the Grimm would set in as quickly as they did," she defends herself.

"We know it wasn't the Grimm, and we know it wasn't you either," Voshkie'ahk says, making Raven look back at her.

Raven fully turns around, "If you two don't know where the relic is…Then we have nothing left to talk about," she says as she grabs her mask.

However, Qrow quickly places his left hand on her mask, stopping her.

"We don't know where the Spring Maiden is either. But if you do, I need you to tell us," he says.

"And why would I do that?" Raven questions him while pulling her mask away.

"Because without her, we're all going to die," Qrow replies, a nearby lamp going out.

Raven slightly chuckles, "And which 'WE' are you referring to?" she repeats his previous statement.

Raven then puts on her mask, grabs her scabbard, and swings her sword to create one of her red portals to leave…However, before she can enter the portal, a glowing yellow card passes by her head, hitting the portal with yellow lightning and forcing it to disappear. Raven looks back to see that Voshkie'ahk has her right arm extended, showing she threw the card. Even Qrow looks at her with one eyebrow raised.

"Raven Branwen…You say that the weak die, and the strong live, but you're wrong. It is the duty of the strong to protect and to guide the weak. My father taught me this, and he was right. You only fight for your tribe, but if Salem wins, then that won't matter. If she wins, then we all die. You and your tribe are no exception to this. Only together, can we prevail, and the further you divide yourself from the rest of the world, the further you play right into her hands. More importantly, you can't choose family. Family is more than just those who raised you. My brother, and your brother, already understand this. Hopefully, you'll understand this too before it's too late," she says, glancing at her.

Raven grunts, "Hmph. Any other pieces of pathetic advice you'd wish to give me?" she says.

"Yes, the next time you insult my brother…You'll have to answer to me," she threatens her with narrowed eyes.

A second later, the end of Raven's sword is a mere inch from Voshkie'ahk's neck.

"Was that supposed to be a threat?" she asks.

"Raven, that's enough!" Qrow says as he grabs the handle of his weapon, ready to fight.

However, Voshkie'ahk remains calm as she stares into Raven's eyes, "You want to try and kill me? Go ahead…I've 'DIED' once already," she says, her left eye glowing green for a moment.

They all remain still for a moment until Raven removes her sword from Voshkie'ahk's neck and creates another portal.

Raven grunts, "Hmph. Maybe you are Khazhak's sister after all," she says and leaves through the portal, while Qrow looks on with an angry expression.

Suddenly, Qrow and Voshkie'ahk hear glass breaking behind them and look to see the waitress from earlier, her body shaking in fear at seeing Raven's departure which caused her to drop a glass. The waitress then looks at the two.

"Make this one a double," Qrow says, gesturing to his drink.

"More tea for me please," Voshkie'ahk adds.

… _The next day, back at Yang's house…_

The next day, Taiyang is seen watering the flowers in front of the house, while Lloyd leans on the wall near him.

"You could help out, you know," Taiyang notes.

"I could, but I only know to break things," Lloyd replies.

A moment later, they hear the front door open up, and look to see Yang walk out…with her new prosthetic arm attached to her body, where she once lost her original right arm. Yang uses it to shield her eyes from the sunlight before flexing it around to get a feel for it.

Lloyd smiles, "Hell. It's about time. Just know that I won't go easy on you," he says as he leans off the wall.

Taiyang smiles as well and nods his head, "Okay…Let's get started," he says.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Another long one, but I had quite a bit to right in this chapter. Lloyd gets through to Yang with Ruby, and we get to learn a little bit more about Voshkie'ahk Ryukado. Now Yang renews her training, with Lloyd to assist her, and Voshkie'ahk's first meeting with Raven…goes about as well as we figured it would. What awaits our heroes in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	60. Chapter 55: Menagerie

**Here we are at Chapter 55. Since it's been a little while since we last saw them, let's get back to Porphyrius and Blake. Hopefully he hasn't killed her yet. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 55. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 55: Menagerie**

… _In Anima…_

In the morning, Khazhak is the first one to wake up at the inn his group was resting at. Ruby and Nora are in one room while the guys are in another. He gets out of bed, stretches, and then looks over to Ren and Jaune. Ren is starting to wake up as well, but Jaune is still snoring away. Ren nods 'good morning' to him, and then looks to Jaune.

"You want me to wake him up?" Ren asks.

"I got it," Khazhak says…and then KICKS Jaune off his bed, hard.

"Ow!" Jaune yells on the floor.

"Get up. We got work to do. Let's go," Khazhak says and proceeds to leave the room.

… _With Porphyrius and Blake…_

The ship that Porphyrius, Blake, and Sun are on makes its way to the port of Menagerie, Blake's old home. Porphyrius looks out to the island and the parts of the town that he can see, taking it all in.

"So this is Menagerie," Porphyrius notes.

"You've never been here before, have you Porphyrius?" Blake asks as she and Sun join him.

"Nope. Kind of hard to when you're busy fighting for your life all the time. Not to mention that three members of my team are human, except for Lloyd but he still looks human. They might not be welcomed there. As for me, I'm a Half-Faunus, hated by both sides. I doubt I'd be welcomed here," Porphyrius notes, crossing his arms.

"The people of Menagerie are more excepting than you think…at least, I hope they are. Just keep to yourself for now, and try not to cause trouble," Blake says.

"That's up to them," Porphyrius nods to the island as they enter the port.

The ship docks at the port and the passengers leave the ship, including the three students. Sun looks around and is in awe at everything around him. There are Faunus of all kinds here, and stalls and vendors all around as people move and conduct their business.

"Wow," Sun says, but then one person carrying some stuff walks by, and he has to lean back to stay out of the way. "Sure is uh…crowded, huh?" Sun notes while scratching his head.

Blake sighs, lowering her cat ears, "Yes…Yes, it is," she says.

The trio starts walking through the town, taking in the sights and the many people around them.

"Is it always so CRAMPED?" Sun asks as a deer Faunus carrying a crate walks by.

"Well, when you try and take an entire species and put them on an island that's two-thirds desert, YEAH, it tends to be cramped," Blake replies, narrowing her eyes.

"What? You guys have that much more space? Why waist it? A little desert never hurt anyone," Sun says as he steps in front of Blake, but then Porphyrius slaps him on the head. "OW!"

"It's not that simple, Sun. The desert isn't the problem, it's what lurks inside the sand, that is. While I've never been here, I at least did some research on it. The Grimm here are more dangerous than most others from across the world. Too dangerous to try and expand the town," Porphyrius explains, making Blake nod to him.

"Porphyrius is right. It's not like the desert in Vacuo, Sun. The wildlife here is more dangerous than most other regions." Blake explains.

"The Faunus wanted equality, but instead got stuck on one of the smallest and most dangerous regions on the planet, and were forced to make do," Porphyrius notes.

"That's a really good summary of the situation, yes," Blake notes as they walk through town.

"…Jerks," Sun mutters at the thought.

The three walk up some steps, "We try to make the best of things," Blake says as they reach the top.

"Whoa…" Sun says as he looks upon the village in awe.

"Not bad, I guess. Better than back home," Porphyrius adds.

They see other sections of the village, and trees around them. The most distinct feature is a large building at the center of the village, with a street leading right to it.

"This is Kuo Kuana," Blake introduces them to the village.

"It's…Beautiful. I take it all back. This place looks GREAT! Why would anyone want to leave?!" Sun asks, not getting the picture.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Porphyrius mutters while shaking his head.

"That's not the point, Sun. We asked to be EQUALS. To be treated just like everyone else. Instead, we were given an island and told to make due. So we did the best we could. We came together and we made a home where any Faunus could feel welcome…But, this island, this town. It will always be a reminder that we're still not equal. That we're still second-class citizens," Blake says in sadness, looking down.

Sun places a comforting hand on her right shoulder, "Well, hey, this guy's feeling pretty at home," he says while pointing at himself, trying to cheer her up.

"Hey, at least you guys have a home," Porphyrius says, gaining their attention. "When my parents were killed, I didn't have a home, nor any other family to go to. I was on my own until Khazhak found me. Then I found a home with him, and the rest of Team KEPL, and that led me to my new home at Beacon. Remember, you guys have it bad, but some of us had it worse," he says.

Blake slowly nods and sighs while looking down, "…Alright, time to go home," she says.

"Which is where exactly?" Porphyrius asks as he glances around.

Blake sighs and points ahead, right to the largest house in the center, "It's that one," she says.

Porphyrius raises an eyebrow, "The big cheese, huh? Guess you're is important here," he notes.

"Something like that, yeah," Blake mutters.

"Whoa, that's a big house," Sun notes with excitement.

The three eventually arrive at the large house, walking up the front steps. They come up to a set of very large doors, with metal handles on the front to hit the door to let the occupants know of visitors. Blake goes to grab one of them, but then hesitates and pulls back, looking worried.

"What is it?" Sun asks.

"I um…It's just been…A long time since I've seen my parents," she admits, looking away, sad.

Porphyrius rolls his eye, "Don't tell me you're gonna run away from your own home, too? That's getting old, you know," he says, crossing his arms.

Blake looks down in shame, but then Sun places a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, we came all this way. Might as well keep going. I've got your back, and so does Porphyrius…I think," he says, supporting her, while Porphyrius grunts in annoyance.

Blake sighs and reaches up to grab the handle and hits it against the door, making a loud metal sound. Porphyrius and Sun look up, a little surprised.

They all take a step back, "Okay, to be honest, that's kind of intimidating," Sun points out, a little scared.

"You think?" Porphyrius adds, also a little nervous.

A moment later, the door opens up and a woman leans out. The woman is a cat Faunus with black cat ears on her head. Her hair is short and has three gold piercings on her cat ears – two on her right, and one on her left. She is wearing a black hakama and sandals with white tabi socks. Over her outfit is a black shrug with a long right sleeve and a short left sleeve with gold leaf trim along the opening at the front. On both arms, she is wearing long, black arm warmers that extend to the middle finger. The left one has a purple band tied around the top and a pair of gold bangles around the wrist. Around her waist is a black and gold sash that trails behind her, with a gold flower-shaped buckle at the end. This is Blake's mother, Kali Belladonna. Kali looks out the door, but then her eyes widen and her cat ears perk up as she steps out the door, looking straight at Blake.

"Blake?" she says, looking shocked.

Blake's cat ears fold down, "…Hi Mom," she says, feeling nervous.

However, Kali just walks up to her and holds her in a heartwarming embrace.

"Oh, my baby girl," she sighs in relief, happy to see her daughter again.

Blake appears shocked, but then smiles as she returns the embrace.

"Kali, who is it?" a male voice asks as they release each other and look back.

A tall, muscular man walks forward. He has black hair, a beard, and yellow eyes. He is wearing an open dark, violet coat with white fur trim, exposing his hairy chest. Over his beige pants is a matching sash that wraps around his waist, secured with a large, silver metal buckle. On the left shoulder of his coat is a silver metal spaulder, which through a pair of curved strips across the chest attaches as a clasp on the opposite front panel of the coat. His black leather boots have white toes in the shape of paws with claws at the tips. This is Blake's father, Ghira Belladonna. Ghira has his hands on his hips, but drops them as his eyes widen at seeing Blake. Blake smiles, while Sun smiles for her, and Porphyrius offers a half smile as he looks away. Ghira smiles at seeing his daughter again, while the three teenagers smile back at one another.

A few minutes later, the five are in a large circular dining room with tall pillars around the edges. In the center is a square table, with Blake, Sun, and Blake's parents sitting on soft pads on their knees, as Kali prepares some food and drinks for them. However, Porphyrius chooses to lean against one of the pillars rather than sit with them as he watches them, arms crossed.

"We were both horrified by the news about what happened in Vale. Vale wasn't the best, but it didn't deserve what happened. And Beacon had always been accepting of the Faunus unlike some of the other schools. It's a shame what happened to it and to the students there. When we heard about what happened, we were worried about you," Kali says as she pours some tea.

Ghira chuckles, "Please, Blake is a skilled fighter. I knew she would be fine," he plays it off.

"Oh please, you know you can't fool me. He was practically bawling his eyes out, worried sick about you," Kali retorts.

Porphyrius grunts, "Daddy's little girl, huh," he mutters in slight amusement.

"You guys have nothing to worry about," Sun begins as Blake goes to sip her cup. "I've seen your daughter in action before. And trust me, she's got some moves," he says, making her stop, wide-eyed, at hearing him say it like that.

"Oh no," Porphyrius mutters while shaking his head.

Ghira quickly narrows his eyes at Sun, "And what exactly do you mean by that, Mr. Wu-Kong?" Ghira asks, giving Sun the father death glare.

Sun gets nervous as he slowly looks at Ghira, "I uh, well, you see sir. It's just that…" and Sun starts rambling, not helping himself any further.

"Sun," Porphyrius calls out, gaining their attention. "Do yourself a favor and just shut up before your mouth ends up digging yourself an even deeper grave," he says, making Sun laugh nervously before he sips his tea with a weak smile.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've been properly introduced," Kali says.

"Porphyrius Darkwing," he replies.

"Why don't you come and sit with us, Mr. Darkwing. I've made some tea for you," she offers.

"No thanks, I'm fine. And just Porphyrius is fine," he replies.

"…If you don't mind me saying, Porphyrius, but you seem…different, from other Faunus here. Care to share?" Ghira asks.

"Um, Dad, actually, you see-," Blake begins.

"Go ahead and tell them, Blake. I really don't give a damn anymore about who knows about me," he stops her.

Blake sighs, "The truth is…Porphyrius is a half-Faunus," she says.

This surprised her parents, "A half-Faunus. But that's impossible. Even if a Faunus got together with a human, they would still end up with either a fully human or fully Faunus child," Ghira retorts.

"It's not impossible. It's just incredibly rare. And I'm the result," Porphyrius corrects him.

"I see. Well then, why are you here then? Did you just follow Blake back like Sun?" Kali asks.

"My team leader back at Beacon, Khazhak, gave me orders to track down Blake and to watch over her for a while. That's the only reason I'm here," he replies.

"Orders? What do you-," Ghira begins until they all hear a knock at the front door. "Darn it, I completely forgot about the meeting," he says, pounding his left fist on the table.

"Ghira…" Kali says, placing her hand on his fist to calm him down.

"Give me a moment," he says and gets up to answer the door.

Blake, Sun, and Porphyrius look at her mom, who looks down, "What was that about?" Porphyrius asks as he walks to the table.

"It's nothing too serious. He can reschedule. It's just been hard dealing with them lately," Kali says as she goes to sip her drink.

"Dealing with who exactly?" Porphyrius asks again, getting suspicious.

Kali stops drinking her cup, "Hm. The White Fang," she says.

The three kids freak out at hearing this, "WHAT?!" they all yell, with Blake and Sun standing up.

They quickly run to the front door, "Dad!" Blake yells.

Ghira turns around, "Blake. What's wrong?" he asks.

In front of him are two White Fang members, though their outfits are different than the ones seen in Vale, and with their hands clasped together. They are two males, one taller than the other. They are both wearing white robes with red hoods, and sleeveless black coats over the robes, along with sandals and black socks. The taller one has a corsac fox tail, while the shorter one has fennec fox ears.

"Miss Belladonna," the taller one says as he bows to her.

"We had no idea you'd returned," the shorter one continues, also bowing to her.

Blake's group stands next to Ghira, "What are you doing talking to these people?" she asks, each one of them looking angry.

"…This is Corsac and Fennec Albain. They represent the White Fang here in Menagerie now," Ghira introduces them.

"Those PSYCHOS are here, too?!" Sun shouts, while Porphyrius growls at the Albains.

"Young man, I'm not sure what you've heard of our organization, but I can assure you we're not nearly as ferocious as the media would have you believe," The one with the fox ears, Fennec, says.

"BULLCRAP!" Porphyrius yells, raising his right weapon arm and aiming his auto rifle at them. "You honestly expect me to believe you MONSTERS?!" he yells, startling them.

"Porphyrius that's enough!" Ghira tells him.

Porphyrius eyes him for a moment before he lowers his weapon, but keeps it activated.

"Don't play dumb with us. You fanatical criminals SLAUGHTERED dozens of innocent people in Vale," Porphyrius says, his rage almost seething.

This makes Ghira suspicious, "What is he talking about?" he questions them, narrowing his eyes a little at them.

"Precisely what we came here to discuss with you, your grace," the taller one, Corsac, calmly replies.

At this point, Kali joins them, "Is everything all right?" she asks, while Blake looks at the Albains, absolutely livid.

"Wait, you guys seriously don't know?!" Sun says.

"Know WHAT?" Ghira asks Blake, narrowing his eyes.

"…The White Fang was at the Fall of Beacon. They attacked innocent civilians, and they released Grimm into the school," Blake recounts the story.

"It's true. I watched them as they sent Grimm into the school. They KILLED innocent students, both human AND Faunus. It made no difference to them. Worst of all…they hurt my friends," Porphyrius adds, gritting his teeth at the Albains.

The two White Fang members glance at each other before looking back at the three students.

"…Is this true?" Ghira asks the brothers accusingly.

"Sadly, your grace, it is," Fennec replies, looking sad about the events.

"Don't act like you-," Blake begins, but Ghira raises his right arm in front of her.

"That's enough!" Ghira stops her. "EXPLAIN yourselves," he demands from the Albains.

The brothers look at each other, then back at him, "Though it pains us to admit, it has become apparent that the Vale branch of the White Fang is no longer operating under orders of high leader Khan. Rather, they've elected to follow the rule of one, Adam Taurus. I believe you're all familiar with the young Adam and his…Extreme…philosophies," Corsac explains.

"Adam Taurus…" Porphyrius growls, clenching his fists. _"The one that took Yang's arm…"_

"The high council had their suspicions of a splinter group, but they could prove nothing until this latest incident," Fennec explains.

"Incident…" Blake starts, getting their attention. "People…are DEAD," She says, narrowing her eyes at them.

"And it IS a tragedy," Corsac says as the two brothers lower their heads.

"To us, maybe, but I know you guys don't actually give a crap about it. Don't play dumb with me," Porphyrius interrupts them.

Fennec looks at Ghira, "Your grace, we came to assure you that Brother Taurus and his followers DO NOT represent the will of the White Fang," Fennec says.

Ghira glares at them, "…And how can I be sure of that?" he asks.

"We understand if you bear any skepticism towards these claims. The White Fang's tactics are…admittedly more aggressive since you stepped down as high leader, and became Chieftan of Menagerie," Corsac says, making Porphyrius look wide-eyed at Ghira.

 _"He was once the leader of the White Fang? Then that means when he was in command, the White Fang was still a peaceful protest group…before it became violent,"_ Porphyrius muses.

"The White Fang tried to send a message to the world, but this is not the message we wanted to send, nor is this the way to send it, "Corsac says.

"You can make up whatever kind of word games you want, but the fact remains that the White Fang has blood on its hands. I would know, I've killed some of those members at the Fall of Beacon," Porphyrius notes, disturbing everyone else a bit.

"Your grace, we have accumulated ample documentation regarding the splinter group's movements, and created some strategies to apprehend them for their crimes. We would like for you to review them," Fennec asks.

"…I will…But another day. I'd like some time to reconnect with my daughter," he says more calmly as he looks at Blake.

"Of course, your grace," Corsac says.

"We completely understand," Fennec adds, then looks at Blake. "It was a pleasure to see you again, young Blake," he says.

"We were saddened when we heard of your departure from the White Fang, but understand if you can no longer support our cause," Corsac adds.

"It is a wearying fight, after all," Fennec says.

Blake steps up, "Who says I'm done fighting?" she says, not noticing Porphyrius glancing at her.

"Hm. If you ever do wish to return, you need merely come find us," Corsac offers.

"Sister Ilia would be elated," Fennec adds, all the while Porphyrius continues to glare at them.

Ghira steps in front of them, "Goodbye, gentlemen," he says and closes the doors.

Kali walks to stand next to Ghira, and Blake turns to leave, but suddenly Porphyrius raises his left arm to stop her.

"To answer your earlier question Blake. 'Who says I'm done fighting?'…YOU did. You didn't say it. You were just DONE. You were done fighting the second you abandoned your teammates, your friends…Again," he says, making her lose her angry expression, and he turns and walks away.

Blake looks down in guilt before she too leaves a moment later.

"…So those guys were creepy," Sun notes about the Albains.

Ghira glares at Sun, "I really don't like you," he says.

Later that night, Porphyrius is seen sitting outside the Belladonna house, in a wide-opened back yard with several rocks, plants, and trees scattered across the area. He sits with his legs crossed, with some rocks stacked in front of him, and with his eye closed. He focuses his energy, his emblem glowing as he begins to slowly raise the rocks in front of him a little higher above the ground, glowing a faint purple outline as they do. He keeps this up as he begins to glow as well and slowly raises his own body above the ground. However, he loses his concentration as his thoughts drift to the earlier conversation with the Albains, and then they drift to Yang. A purple flame erupts from his emblem, and he starts to grit his teeth. However, he quickly wakes up and shuts off his semblance, with the rocks and himself falling to the ground. He sighs and stands up as he walks over to a large boulder in front of him. He clenches his fists, grinds his teeth, and then screams as he starts punching the boulder with his fists encased in his gravity semblance. The attacks rip away at the side of the boulder, while he continues his screaming. Finally, he raises his fists into the air and smashes them onto the boulder, obliterating it. Porphyrius breathes heavily on the ground as he tries to calm himself down, his thoughts drifting to Yang.

"…Yang…" Porphyrius mutters.

"Are you alright?" he hears behind him and looks to see Kali, standing with a cup of tea in her hands. "Here, drink this. It'll help," she says and hands him the cup.

Porphyrius slowly takes the cup, "Thanks," he says and drinks it.

"A room has been prepared for you for the night," Kali says.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine out here. I'm more used to sleeping outside anyway," Porphyrius rejects her offer.

"Did your parents always make you sleep outside?" Kali asks solemnly.

"No, it's not what you think. My parents actually loved me, and each other, even if we weren't exactly the same species. It was because of that reason that they…that they murdered. This came along with their deaths," Porphyrius says, pointing at his eyepatch.

Kali looks down in sadness, "I'm sorry to hear that," she apologizes and decides to change the subject. "Was that your semblance just now?" she asks.

"Yes…It's hard to control, especially when I have some anger issues," Porphyrius replies.

"I see…Earlier, you said that you were here because your leader gave you orders to watch over Blake. Were the three of you friends?" Kali asks.

"Back at Beacon, we were, but that was before it all went down…and your daughter ran away from her teammates. Again. Now, I no longer consider her my friend, and I'm sure Khazhak would say the same. No offense, but your daughter has a really bad habit of running away from her problems rather than facing them. Adam Taurus, he…he hurt someone I care about. Her name is Yang Xiao long, a human, and Blake's partner in her team from Beacon. He sliced her right arm off…However your daughter hurt Yang even more when she ran away and abandoned her after we got into Vale. It hurt her a lot, and she stopped smiling like she usually does," he explains as he stands up. "I will NEVER forgive Blake for that. To be honest, a part of me wants her DEAD for that…But my leader, and more importantly, Blake's leader, Ruby Rose, need her alive. And I'm here to make sure that not only does she stay alive, but that she will also get back in the fight. I don't care what happens to her, but there are other people that do. Khazhak has never steered me wrong, and I owe him my life. So that's why I'm here, for them," Porphyrius explains.

"It takes a strong man to be able to keep his emotions in check and focus on the more important task at hand. You've been through a lot, but yet you keep fighting. Not many people have that kind of strength," Kali says and turns to leave. "You really should sleep in the guest room tonight. It's much better than sleeping outside," Kali notes as she leaves.

Porphyrius just grunts and continues with his training. Kali walks back to the house to find Ghira with his arms crossed as he watches Porphyrius.

"I hope he'll clean up his mess when he's done," he says, making Kali chuckle. "So, what do you think? I'm not sure how I feel about him, though. I don't like how he's been treating Blake," Ghira says.

"Let's just say there's some issues that they need to sort out. And they'll have to sort them out without us. But more importantly, I think he's a boy that's been through more than most his age ever went through. However, I also know that he has a strong heart and a strong sense of loyalty. I don't think we need to worry about him," Kali says, smiling.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Tensions are already high between Porphyrius and Blake, and now that her parents are in the picture, it should get a little more complicated. As for Kali's interactions with Porphyrius, she always seemed like the voice of reason to me, so I thought it would be good. I have something planned for him and Ghira for later on though. Anyway, will Blake and Porphyrius ever become friends again? Will Sun survive Blake's father? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	61. Chapter 56: The Hunter Comes

**Here were are at Chapter 56. Now that we've seen how Blake and Porphyrius are doing, let's see how some of the other members of Teams RWBY and KEPL are holding up. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 56. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 56: The Hunter Comes**

… _In Anima…_

Ruby and her group continue their trek to Mistral, with Jaune at the front holding the map.

Nora raises her arms in the air, "Another day, another adventure," she says with joy.

"Adventure, right," Khazhak mutters, rolling his eyes.

"Oh come on, Khazhak. Try and stay positive. Every step we take is another step closer to Haven Academy," Ruby notes.

"Uh huh, you make it sound like Haven is closer than you thought it was, Milady, no disrespect," Khazhak replies.

Ruby lowers her head and sighs, "I guess Haven is a lot farther away than I thought," she mutters.

"Not much different from my old travels. I'm used to travelling long distances, though my teammates and I have found ways of covering more ground in less time at some intervals," Khazhak says.

"Like what?" Nora asks.

"Remember when Ruby and Weiss rode on that giant Nevermore during the initiation exam?" Khazhak asks, and they all nod, with Ruby chuckling nervously from that. "Well, don't think too much on it. It was mainly Lloyd's idea," he adds.

"Well, I guess riding a giant Nevermore is better than getting thrown into the air by an angry Deathstalker," Jaune groans.

"Yeah, I still remember you screaming like a little girl," Khazhak notes, making Ruby and Nora snicker, and Jaune groan even more.

"Well, hopefully we won't have to wait much longer before we finally reach Haven," Ruby notes.

Ren walks up beside Ruby, "Ruby, how long did you think this journey was going to take?" he asks.

Ruby flings her arms in frustration, "I don't know. I grew up in a small area. I've been this far away from home," she says.

"Right, but, how long?" Jaune asks.

"Maybe like, uh…Two weeks," she says, not feeling that confident about it.

"WHAT?!" Jaune yells, while Khazhak raises his eyebrow at Ruby.

"Okay, fine, three or something!" Ruby yells back, then calms down. "Look…Whatever," she says.

"Anima is the largest continent on the planet, Milady. Be patient. We'll get to Mistral soon enough," Khazhak says.

Ruby looks up and notices the wall of a village up ahead, "Hey, what's that?" she asks.

Nora goes to stand on top of a wooden fence to get a better view.

"That's strange…I didn't think we'd hit another village for a few days," Jaune says in confusion as he looks over the map.

Khazhak narrows his eyes, "Those buildings…They're damaged," Khazhak realizes.

"We should search for survivors!" Jaune says and the group races into the village.

When they enter, they see several buildings, though each one of them looks incomplete, showing their wooden support beams but nothing covering them. As if something stopped them from being finished. Nora jumps on top of the wall and then onto one of the taller buildings while the others remain on the ground for their search. Ruby picks up one large piece of wood, but finds nothing underneath. Khazhak checks inside one of the buildings, but finds nothing.

"Anything?" she asks.

"Nothing over here," Nora replies while Ren kneels and looks at the stone ground.

"No one over here either," Jaune replies.

"It almost seems like…the town was abandoned," Ren notes as Nora runs by him with the others walking up near him.

"I agree. These buildings were in the middle of being constructed, but it looks like something happened that forced the workers to stop and just leave the town as it is," Khazhak concurs as he looks around.

Ruby remains behind them, feeling an ominous sense in the air.

"Hey! I think I found something," Nora calls out. They all move to the center of the street, coming up to a small sign with some foliage growing on it. Nora moves the leaves out of the way to show the name of the village…Oniyuri. "Oniyuri. Hm, never heard of it," Nora says, hands on her hips.

"I'm not familiar with it," Khazhak notes.

Ren closes his eyes, "I am," he says and they look at him. Ren looks at them solemnly, "You might think of it as Anima's Mountain Glenn, had it never been completed. Years ago, the richest members of Mistral were unhappy with how the kingdom was being run. Frustrated with the council, they pulled their resources together to build their own city. With their own laws. They hoped that one day, it could maybe become its own kingdom. Many thought it would be the future…" Ren says as he turns and walks away from them a few feet. "…I know my parents did," he says, looking sad.

"What happened?" Ruby asks, worried about the answer.

Ren swipes away some dust on a stone, revealing claw marks in the rock, "What always happens…" he answers.

"…The Grimm," Khazhak says.

"…Not just anyone," Ren says, clenching his fists.

Ruby looks at Khazhak, then back to Ren, "…One?" she asks.

Just then, several birds fly out of the trees outside the village and pass over them.

"Come on, let's just get through here. This place gives me the creeps," Jaune says as he starts walking ahead.

"Agreed. This place gives off a dark presence," Khazhak adds as he joins him.

The others soon follow, with Ruby looking back one more time before they head deeper into the village. Ruby's group continues walking through the village as they reach the village center. However, Ren stops and holds his right hand out, telling the others to stop as well.

Ren closes his eyes, "Khazhak," he says.

Khazhak nods, "Ah, I sense it too. Something's coming," he replies as the two can feel someone running towards them from their rear.

Khazhak and Ren takes out their weapons, prompting the others to do the same as they look around for danger. Ren suddenly opens his eyes and looks back and above to see none other than Tyrian Callows jumping from atop a building. He flips in the air and lands a short distance away in front of them. He then activates his weapons, a pair of pincer blades on his bracers, laughing eagerly.

Tyrian runs at them, but Ren intercepts him. Their blades clash, and then Ren tries to kick Tyrian followed by shooting him, but Tyrian parries each attack. Tyrian the attacks Ren with his left pincer blades, which Ren blocks, and then throws a kick that Ren ducks under. However, Tyrian attacks with his blades once more, this time sending Ren flying back. Tyrian goes after Ruby this time, but Khazhak gets in his way. Khazhak swings his sword at his left side, but Tyrian twirls over it, and manages to block a backhand strike from Khazhak's left arm. Tyrian swings his left blades at him, but Khazhak blocks with his left hand and raises his sword up to strike down Tyrian again. However, Tyrian jumps back and then quickly roundhouse kicks him, but he blocks it as he slides back. Khazhak fires a few spark shots at him, but Tyrian evades each shot as he gets close. Khazhak swings his sword upwards at him, but Tyrian sidesteps the attack and manages to sweep Khazhak off his feet before he kicks him away. Now having the chance, Tyrian attacks Ruby. Ruby swings her scythe at him, but he blocks it, followed up by a spin kick that knocks her back. He attacks her again, but Nora blocks the attack and swings her hammer down on him, but Tyrian jumps over the swing and kicks Nora in the face. Getting Nora out of the way, Tyrian goes back after Ruby. Smiling, Tyrian spins around to kick her weapon away, forcing her to spin it in defense, and then deals a direct hit on her with his blades. Luckily, her aura protected her, but it did some damage. Just before he can land another blow, Khazhak comes in and grabs his right arm with his left hand. He swings Tyrian around and slams him onto the ground. He goes to slam his right foot down on him, but Tyrian rolls out of the way and swings his blades at him, forcing Khazhak to block them with his sword.

Jaune then comes up from behind, but Tyrian notices this and swings around to climb onto his shield like an animal. Jaune grits his teeth at him, but Tyrian just smiles right in his face. Nora runs up from behind, forcing Tyrian to push off of Jaune and stand on top of her hammer. Khazhak comes in again to swing his sword at him, but Tyrian jumps high into the air, crashing into the top side of a nearby building, balancing himself on two wooden support beams. Everyone recollects themselves as they look at Tyrian.

"We're not looking for a fight!" Jaune yells at him.

"Who are you? What do you want with us?!" Khazhak yells.

Tyrian just smiles and falls to the ground, landing on his feet in front of them and stands up.

"Who I am matters not to you. Or you," he begins, pointing at Ren and Nora. "Or…Well, YOU do interest me," he says, pointing at Jaune, which makes him nervous. "And I was told about dealing with you should we meet," he continues, pointing at Khazhak next, making him narrow his eyes at him. "No, I only matter…To YOU," he says, pointing straight at Ruby who stands behind everyone, making them look back at her.

"…Me?" she asks, confused.

Tyrian starts laughing crazily, "Hahahaha! You, you haven't the slightest clue, do you? Oh, how exciting this must be!" he laughs, holding his head in his left hand.

"…What do you want?" Ruby asks.

Tyrian gasps dramatically, "The rose has thorns! My little flower, I'm here to wisk you away with me," he says dramatically.

"I won't let you lay a single hand upon my Master," Khazhak says, standing protectively in front of Ruby.

Tyrian drops his left arm, "Well, what you think about this doesn't matter, little dragon. If she won't come willingly, then I'll just have to take her by force," he says.

Jaune steps in front of Ruby and Khazhak, "We're NOT going to let you do that," he says.

Khazhak stands next to him, "Agreed. If you want Ruby, then you'll have to go through me," he says.

Tyrian closes his eyes while inhaling through his teeth. Then he opens them while smiling an evil grin.

"Good," he growls.

A second later, he's suddenly behind Khazhak, about to attack.

Khazhak moves his blade behind him to block the attack. Ren then fires his pistols at Tyrian, forcing him to jump back. Khazhak jumps into the air, spinning his blade around as he nears Tyrian. Tyrian deflects the strike and then clashes his blades against Khazhak's. Ruby comes near them, but Tyrian pushes Khazhak away and then kicks her back. Ruby slides across the ground before steadying herself, her scythe's blade in the ground in a sniping position. Jaune comes in and swings his sword at Tyrian, but he ducks underneath it before he twirls around, kicking Jaune once in the head, and then kicks him again to knock him back. Nora rushes him, swinging her hammer around, but Tyrian easily dodges her and roundhouse kicks her away. Khazhak then charges him, spinning in the air with his sword like a buzzsaw aimed at Tyrian. Tyrian backflips out of the way, and then Khazhak quickly charges up his lighting before sending a Lightning Slash technique at him. Tyrian jumps over the attack and runs at Khazhak. The two clash their blades, but then Tyrian rolls back, taking Khazhak with him. He forces Khazhak to jump over him, giving Tyrian the chance to double jump kick him in the back, sending him to the ground. With him out of the way, Tyrian runs after Nora next. However, Ruby smiles as she aims her weapon, loaded with lightning Dust rounds and fires a shot. Khazhak joins her by firing a spark shot from his left hand and the two shots fly by Tyrian's head, hitting Nora instead. Nora falls to the ground in a cloud of dust, while Tyrian looks on in disbelief, lightly slapping his face with his right hand.

Tyrian explodes in laughter, but Ruby just smiles while Khazhak shows a knowing look.

"Hahahaha! Well, if that isn't ironic," he says, not knowing what's really going on.

Everyone gets back on their feet, and Tyrian loses his smile, feeling something is wrong. Behind him, Nora stands up as lightning courses around her body thanks to her semblance, and she smiles. Swinging her hammer around, she shoots up to Tyrian's right side, and then swings it down on him hard, causing a large explosion of dust to cover them. Everyone else covers their eyes for a moment before looking ahead as the dust clears. What they see…is Tyrian blocking Nora's hammer…with a large scorpion tail protruding from his lower back through his jacket.

Tyrian giggles, "Surprise," he says.

Tyrian then uses his tail to push Nora's weapon back, spinning around to kick her twice, knocking her back. Tyrian then removes his jacket before back-flipping high into the air to land on top of one of the old buildings, snickering.

"He's…a Faunus," Ren says in surprise as he stands next to Jaune.

Ruby and Khazhak step up, "What is this about?! The White Fang?! Roman Torchwick?!" Ruby shouts.

"Plastic soldiers and pawns. My heart and belong only to our goddess," he says, raising his arms in the air.

"Cinder…" Ruby mutters with hate.

"Hmph. Only in her wildest dreams!' Tyrian retorts, before launching himself at them again.

Tyrian lands behind them, activates his pincer blades again, and spins around to swing his tail at Ruby. Ruby blocks the attack with her scythe, but then Tyrian throws a kick, which she evades. Ruby then swings her scythe at him, but he leans back to avoid it and then hits her with his right blades, sending her flying back. Khazhak comes up and swings his sword downward on him, but Tyrian dodges right and then throws a kick at his face. Khazhak blocks it with his left hand, but then Tyrian jumps onto his sword and throws another kick that connects with his skull, knocking him back. Khazhak shakes it off, and spins around with his blade, Making Tyrian jump back. Khazhak charges up his semblance and then sends out his Lightning Oblivion technique. Tyrian races through each of them as he gets close and then swings his pincer blades at Khazhak that sends him flying. Next, Tyrian attacks Ren, using his tail to attack his head. Ren dodges two strikes, but can't avoid a blade strike to his torso, followed by a tail swing that sends him flying.

Khazhak goes for another strike, but Tyrian kicks him back, focring him to blocm the attack as he slides across the ground. Jaune goes for his rear, but Tyrian spins around and throws a kick that nails his shield, and then jumps over it for a jump kick to Jaune's face, knocking him back. Nora attacks with her hammer, but Tyrian blocks it with his tail again before sending her flying back with left hook kick. Immediately, Ren tries to attack again, but Tyrian throws a spin kick that he ducks under before getting hit by Tyrian's tail. With the path clear, Tyrian goes after Ruby again. Tyrian lands two blows with his blades on Ruby, and then swings his tail at her, sending her flying while losing her weapon. Tyrian runs along to intercept her, and when she gets close, he throws another spin kick that hits her in the stomach, sending her flying onto the ground while taking out the rest of her aura.

Tyrian walks up to Ruby, who struggles to get up. However, Khazhak pops up again and slams his left fist down on Tyrian, forcing him to jump back. Tyrian eyes Khazhak and grins. Khazhak narrows his eyes before charging up his sword, only this time enough for one of the glowing sections on the hilt to light up. The sword begins changing form, with the blade becoming smaller while the handle extends to be as long as Khazhak is tall, turning from a sword into a glaive weapon. Khazhak spins his glaive around before he rushes Tyrian. Khazhak twirls his weapon around, swinging the blade at different angles to get a hit on Tyrian. Tyrian does get forced back a bit, but soon finds an opening and wraps his tail around Khazhak's weapon on its staff. Tyrian then swinging his pincer blades, forcing Khazhak to block with his left arm, but two attacks hit his chest before Tyrian kicks him back. Khazhak growls and then fires off some spark shots, which Tyrian evades easily, while Khazhak charges him again. Khazhak spins his weapon around, using its superior length to try and hit Tyrian, but Tyrian ducks under the strike and then jumps up to kick Khazhak again. However, Khazhak grabs his right foot and twirls him around before throwing him a short distance away. Tyrian lands on his feet, while Khazhak charges up his weapon again, spinning it as he prepares his next attack.

"SUPREME THUNDER DRAGON STRIKE!" he yells, and thrusts his weapon forward, sending a concentrated spear of lightning at Tyrian, engulfing him in a cloud of smoke.

Khazhak looks on waiting for the dust to settle, but when it does, he finds Tyrian is nowhere in sight.

"You missed me," he hears behind him, and his eyes widen.

Khazhak swings his weapon back, only for Tyrian to jump over it and deal a few more blows on his body in mid-air. Tyrian then wraps his tail around Khazhak's neck from behind for a moment before he swings him around, sending Khazhak crashing through a building. Khazhak slowly gets up as his aura becomes heavily damaged, switching his weapon back to its sword form. However, he hears noise above him and looks up just in time to see the entire building come crashing down on top of him, burying him in the debris.

"KHAZHAK!" Ruby yells in horror.

"Now then…" she hears and looks up to see Tyrian standing over her.

Tyrian's eyes turn purple as he giggles, readying his tail to finish the job. The others can only look on in horror as they are unable to help. Tyrian laughs before he sends his tail at her, but suddenly the wall of one building breaks, and Ruby's uncle, Qrow Branwen, immediately appears to block the strike with his sword, holding his weapon behind him. Ruby looks up and gasps in shock while Tyrian giggles nervously. Ruby and Qrow then smile as they look at each other.

"…Hey…" Qrow says.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Tyrian catches up to Ruby's group and shows the clear difference in skill and experience between them. Just so we're clear, while Khazhak is quite strong, he has never once defeated Raven, and Qrow is said to be equal in skill to her. Since Tyrian appears to be equal in skill to Qrow, it only reasons to assume that Khazhak would have a difficult time to defeat Tyrian (or Qrow), at least alone anyway. Also, to add to this, While Khazhak did face off against both Qrow and Winter in Volume 3, that was basically a triple threat match where neither Qrow nor Winter put all of their focus on Khazhak. He can go toe-to-toe with Winter given their history, but Qrow would be a different story. Anyway, Qrow managed to save Ruby, but is Khazhak still alive? Will Qrow be able to defeat Tyrian? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	62. Chapter 57: Dragon Spirit

**Here we are at Chapter 57. Let's see the conclusion of Ruby's battle against Tyrian, along with one other surprise in this fight. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 57. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 57: Dragon Spirit**

… _In Anima…_

Tyrian pulls his tail back, while Qrow spins his sword around as he turns to face Tyrian, holding his blade at the ready by his side.

"As I live and breathe, Qrow Branwen. A true huntsman has entered the fray!" Tyrian dramatically says as he bows to Qrow with his right arm out.

Ruby stands up, setting Crescent Rose on its end as she leans against it. Qrow glances back at her with an eyebrow raises in slight confusion.

"I don't know, this guy's weird," Ruby says to Qrow.

Qrow looks back at Tyrian, "Look, pal, I'm not sure who you are, but you need to leave my niece alone," he warns him while Tyrian takes one step forward.

Tyrian chortles, "Why friend, my name is Tyrian. And I'm afraid that is not possible. My assignment from her Grace was to retrieve this young girl, and to kill the boy with the Dragon Spirit, though that has already been taken care of. So that is what I must do. One does not upset the queen," he says, hand on his chest.

"Queen?" Ruby says, confused.

Qrow narrows his eyes, "Salem," he mutters.

"…Who?" Ruby asks him, though he makes no response.

"Hmm, I think we've had enough talk now, don't you?" Tyrian says and gets into a crouched position.

"You took the words right out-," Qrow begins.

But, Tyrian immediately lunges at him. Qrow swings his sword twice to block his strikes and then counterattacks with a third. Tyrian moves back and then jumps into the air as he tries to swing his blades at him again. Qrow dodges and then swings at him again, but Tyrian backflips away to avoid it. Tyrian jumps, spinning in the air, as he swings his pincer blades at Qrow again. Qrow runs at him, swinging his sword upward to knock Tyrian back. Tyrian lands on all fours, blades scraping against the ground, and then ducks as Qrow swings his sword at him. Tyrian attacks with his tail, but Qrow blocks it with his sword behind him and spins around to slam his sword down on him. Tyrian moves right to evade it and then blocks another strike from Qrow as he spins around on one leg to move his sword to block another strike from behind. Holding his sword in a reverse grip, Qrow attacks again, but Tyrian dodges it. Tyrian launches his tail at Qrow twice, but Qrow blocks each attack and then spins his sword around before he jumps into the air, spinning his whole body around as he comes to slam his sword down on Tyrian. Tyrian blocks with both pincer blades, but is forced onto his knees. The impact from the collision causes part of a roof of a nearby building to break off and fall to the ground.

While this occurs, a thought occurs to Ruby, "Khazhak!" she remembers and goes to destroyed building to dig him out along with the others.

Back in the fight, Tyrian smiles back before he cocks his right bracer, causing a pair of short-barreled machine guns to pop out. He fires his guns, forcing Qrow to jump back while allowing Tyrian to backflip onto his feet. Tyrian starts running around Qrow while firing off all four of his guns, showing a crazed smile the whole time. Qrow spins his blade around in front of him like a makeshift shield to block the bullets. From behind Tyrian, Ruby sees the fight and growls.

"Keep digging for Khazhak!" she tells her friends before she takes her scythe and runs into the fight.

However, Tyrian knows she's coming as he leans back to stare at her. Ruby swings her scythe at him, but he deflects the attack before throwing two spin kicks on her, followed by a double jump kick that knocks her back. Tyrian runs at Ruby, but then Qrow stops him with his sword, pushing against Tyrian's blades.

Qrow looks back at the others, "Stay out of this!" he yells before focusing back on Tyrian.

"…Fine," Ruby says and takes her scythe.

The others continue digging for Khazhak, but find themselves glancing back at the fight a few times, worried about Ruby and Qrow. Eventually though, they manage to dig Khazhak's body out of the rumble, though he remains unconscious. Nora and Ren check his vitals while Jaune focuses back on the fight. Ruby gets onto the roof of one building overlooking the town center. Twirling her scythe around, she stabs the blade into the roof, taking a sniping position. She tries to get a clear shot at Tyrian, but he and Qrow are fighting so close and so fiercely in the village center, that she can't get a good shot off, and grits her teeth in frustration.

Meanwhile, Qrow runs at Tyrian, who jumps over him while attacking, making Qrow block with his sword. Landing behind him, Tyrian attacks with his tail again, but Qrow deflects it. Tyrian jumps up and swings his blades again, but Qrow once more blocks them. Next, Tyrian throws a side kick, but Qrow ducks under it before swings his sword back at him three times, Tyrian ducks lower under each swing before Qrow jumps over him. Balancing himself on his tail, Tyrian fires his guns at Qrow, who blocks each shot with his sword. When Qrow lands, he fires off a shot with his shotguns, but Tyrian evades them and then spins at Qrow again. He lunges his tail at Qrow, who narrowly dodges it, but then pulls back his tail to wrap around Qrow's right arm. Pulling it back, he separates Qrow's sword from his hand, making it spin in the air before imbedding itself in the side of a nearby building.

Qrow flexes his right hand and narrows his eyes at Tyrian. Tyrian bends forward, laughing, but then a random shot flies by his face, making some locks of his hair move. He looks at the point where the bullet hit the ground and just smiles. From where she fired off the first shot, Ruby fires off several more rounds at Tyrian, but he just deflects each shot by flexing his tail around, smiling the whole time. Qrow clenches his right fist, shrugs his shoulders, and throws a right punch at Tyrian's face. Tyrian reels back from the punch and looks up, only for Qrow to hit his face again with a left hook, and then a right uppercut. With Tyrian stumbling back, Qrow walks up to him before throwing a right front kick that sends Tyrian tumbling across the ground a short distance away from him. Tyrian scrapes his fingers against the ground to stop himself, landing on one knee. Qrow then casually walks by him, grunting in slight amusement as he goes to retrieve his blade. Tyrian growls in frustration, but when Qrow grabs his sword with his back to him, he smiles.

However, Qrow grits his teeth as he sees it coming. Just as Tyrian attacks him with his blades, Qrow jumps up and lands on his sword, still imbedded in the wall. Hitting the switch on his blade, the gears in the hilt start turning, and the blade bends, turning into its scythe form. Qrow fires off a shotgun blast, making Tyrian dodge as the shot sends Qrow into the air. As he moves up, Qrow grabs the end of a wooden support beam on the roof, making it go to stand upward, with him balancing himself on top with one hand. Tyrian jumps up, slashing the support beam in half, forcing Qrow to land on another on the roof. Spinning his sword around, Qrow swings it to block another strike from one of Tyrian's pincer blades. Qrow forces Tyrian back, making him land on a support beam on the opposite side of the roof. Tyrian rushes at him, but Qrow jumps over him, making him fall into the building. However, Tyrian wraps his ail around one support beam, making him spring up into the air, firing his guns at Qrow, who spins his sword around to block the rounds. Qrow swings his sword upward to block another attack from Tyrian, who jumps back before coming at him again. The two parry two strikes from each other, but Qrow slides back against the beams. Tyrian attacks again, their blades clashed against each other. Qrow looks left and sees a big hole in the roof with a damaged support beam in it, and then moves around Tyrian to run to the other side. Tyrian jumps into the air after him, but when he lands on the damaged beam, it breaks and he falls into the building. Qrow jumps up, but gets his left leg caught by Tyrian's tail, and gets pulled down with him. The crash inside the building, while the roof collapses on top of them. Ruby can only look on in worry for her uncle.

 _…Meanwhile, in Khazhak's mind…_

Khazhak groans, "Ugh, what happened?" he mutters, but then recollects the previous events. "Ruby!" he yells and sits up. However, all he sees around him is a dark expanse of nothingness. He stands up and looks around, "Great, now what. I'm either dead, which I doubt, or I'm knocked out. I don't have time for dreams right now," he muses.

"This is no dream," he hears a deep, but powerful voice all around him. Khazhak makes a grab for his sword, but finds it is no longer with him, and grunts. "Always so quick to death. Humans can be such foolish creatures," he hears the same voice.

"At least I'm not coward. Now why don't you come out here and say that to my face," Khazhak says.

He hears someone chuckling, "So be it," the voice replies.

Loud footsteps are heard as Khazhak turns around to find a very large creature walking towards him. As the creature comes closer, Khazhak begins to make out its form. It has a very large body, with dark blue scale, four legs, and a long, spiked tail. The creature has a pair of large bat-like wings. On the creatures head are four horns, two curved forwards, and two pointed backwards, and red piercing eyes. When the creature finally fully reveals himself, Khazhak sees that it is a huge, dark blue….dragon. The dragon roars at him, but Khazhak stands his ground, unfazed.

"And you are?" Khazhak asks with narrowed eyes.

"I am…Bahamut, one of the last of my kind," Bahamut introduces himself.

"One of the last?" Khazhak asks.

"Humans and Faunus were not the first species to fight the Grimm, but they may end up being the last. Long ago, before your kind took its first breath, we dragons fought against the Grimm. We had the superior power, but they eventually overwhelmed us because of our own arrogance. To ensure my kind's survival, I invoked an ancient ritual, one that would bind me to my descendants, ensuring that my kind's legacy lives on," he says.

"…The tale of the human born with the power of a dragon," Khazhak realizes.

"Not quite. You humans misinterpreted a few things. The truth is, my will lies dormant in your soul, and only recently have I awoken. You could say you possess two souls within you, yours and mine. The Dragon's Spirit," Bahamut corrects him.

Khazhak grunts, "Whatever. Look, I don't have time for this. I need to get back to the others. My master needs me," he says.

"Ah, yes, the girl with the Silver Eyes. A powerful lineage dwells within her, as does you," he replies.

"What do you want?" Khazhak asks, losing his patience.

"Let me ask you, do you desire power?" Bahamut asks him.

"What's this got to do with anything?" Khazhak retorts.

"Answer the question," Bahamut replies.

"…Yes," he replies.

"For what purpose?" Bahamut asks again.

"To protect the innocent, and to punish the guilty. But most of all, to protect Ruby Rose. My life belongs to her, and I will do whatever it takes to ensure she lives and accomplishes her goals," he replies.

"I can grant you this power, but in return, your life belongs to me instead," Bahamut offers.

Khazhak narrows his eyes, "No deal," he rejects the offer.

"Do you not wish to aid the girl with the Silver Eyes? You will need this power if you do," Bahamut counters.

"Well, the last time I checked, you needed ME to stay alive. My friends and I are in a difficult situation right now. If I die, then you die, and who knows how long it will be before you will be reborn again, if at all. Like I said before, I answer to no one but Ruby Rose. So we either do this on my terms, or not at all," Khazhak says.

The dragon narrows his eyes at Khazhak, thinking for a moment.

"Hm. Very well. I will offer you a small portion of my power. Few humans possess such will such as yours. I find that intriguing. This girl must mean a lot to you. But know this, even a fraction of my strength will come at a cost, as does everything else," Bahamut replies.

"If it will help me help Ruby, then I don't care what the price is," Khazhak replies.

"Very well, this will take a moment…and it will be painful," Bahamut says before red beams come out from his eyes and into Khazhak's right eye, making him scream in extreme pain as everything goes blank.

 _…Back in the village fight…_

Ruby grits her teeth before she rides on her scythe, sliding across the rooftop. She fires off one shot to send her into the air, and then a second shot right before she hits the ground to cushion her descent. Landing safely on the ground, Ruby runs to the building that Tyrian and Qrow fell in. She runs to the side, but stops when one side of the building explodes, creating a big hole. She sees her uncle fly out of the hole, tumbling on the ground before he throws his blade in front of him. The sword stops with its tip imbedded into the ground, and then Qrow collides with it, making it move back until it stops with him standing on top of it. Flickers of red aura appear on his body, indicating his aura is heavily damaged. Inside the destroyed building, flickers of Tyrian's purple aura, in the same condition, appear before he jumps out of the smoke towards Qrow. Qrow flips back to land on the ground and grab his sword before he charges at Tyrian. However, just as they're about to collide, Ruby suddenly gets in between them, swinging her scythe to deflect an attack from Tyrian.

"Ruby!" Jaune calls out, but Ren stops him with his right arm.

"Do you WISH to be taken?!" Tyrian asks.

"No! But I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!" Ruby retorts before she and Qrow run at Tyrian.

Ruby's scythe swings downward while Qrow's sword swings upward, however Tyrian blocks both attacks at once. Pushing them back, he spins around and kicks Qrow in the back, knocking him back. Tyrian then attacks Ruby with his tail, but she blocks and then spins her scythe around to deflect some bullets aimed at her. Ruby swings her scythe at him, but Tyrian deflects it and then attacks with his tail again. Ruby gasps, but suddenly Qrow appears to blocks the strike with his sword and then clashes his blade against Tyrian's blades.

Qrow looks back at Ruby, "Ruby! I told you to stay out of this!" he tells her.

"This is my fight too!" Ruby retorts.

Ruby runs around them, swinging her scythe at Tyrian's legs, but he jumps over the attack and looks back at her.

"No, it's not that. It's-," Qrow says, but Ruby doesn't listen and runs at Tyrian again.

Ruby swings her scythe again at him, but Tyrian parries it with his tail and then front-flips around to hit Ruby with a double front jump kick, knocking her back. Ruby lands on her feet, but then one of the support beams from the damaged building behind her gets shaken up, causing a heavier beam to break off and fall towards her. Ruby looks up, but just as it's about to hit her, it gets sliced clean in half by Qrow. Ruby smiles at him, which he returns…but then he gasps in pain as he is immediately cut in the abdomen by Tyrian's stinger on his tail. Tyrian chuckles while everyone looks on in horror, except for Ruby. She goes to slice of the stinger of his tail, but Tyrian quickly pulls back and swings it around to knock Ruby into Qrow and send them both to the ground.

"Ruby!" Jaune yells.

Ruby looks up to see Tyrian about to attack her. However, suddenly Khazhak's blade flies by Team RNJR and imbeds itself in the ground between them, stopping his attack. Everyone looks back to see Khazhak standing on his feet behind everyone else, his bangs covering his eyes.

"Khazhak!" Ruby yells for joy, but when he makes no response, she loses her smile. "Khazhak?" she says.

Khazhak takes one step forward, and then a second later, he is suddenly in between Ruby and Tyrian, much to Tyrian's shock. Khazhak backhands him hard, sending Tyrian rolling away from them.

"I told you, Tyrian. You will not lay a hand on my master," he mutters darkly. "Are you alright, Milady?" he ask without looking back at her.

Ruby and Qrow slowly stand up, Qrow holding his wound.

"Y-yeah, we're fine…Khazhak?" she says.

Khazhak slowly turns to her, and Ruby gasps at what she sees. Khazhak's face is the same, however his right eye has turned from blue to a crimson red, with the pupil becoming a slit like a reptile's. His left eye is still blue, but the pupil has also become a slit. Around his right eye are dark blue reptilian scales encompassing it, with his eyebrow now having big sharp scales instead of hair.

"Khazhak…W-what happened to your eye?" she asks, fear in her voice.

"I'll explain later, Milady. But for now…" he says as he turns to face Tyrian, who gets back on his feet. "Let US handle this," he says.

"…Us?" Ruby asks.

Instead of reaching for his sword, Khazhak cocks his arms, and an arm-blade pops out of the gauntlet on his right arm, and a left blade out of his left arm.

"Let's see what this power of yours can do…Let's go…Bahamut," he says, making Qrow's eyes widen in shock.

Khazhak then lunges at Tyrian, attacking with his arm blades. Tyrian blocks the attacks, and then spin kicks him back to get some distance between them. However, Khazhak charges right back at him. Tyrian fires his guns at him, but Khazhak blocks the shots with his blades as he runs at him. Khazhak then performs a roundhouse kick when he gets close, knocking the pincer blades aside, and then swings his left blade at Tyrian. Tyrian leans back to avoid it and counters with an attack from his tail. However, Khazhak grabs it with his left hand, spins around while taking Tyrian with him, and throws him into the side of a nearby building. Tyrian hits the wall, causing cracks in it, and falls onto one knee. However, as soon as he gets up, Khazhak immediately tackles him through the wall and into the building. Tyrian comes crashing out the side of the building, while Khazhak jumps out through the roof, causing the whole thing to fall apart. Tyrian looks up as Khazhak throws his left fist at him, and moves just in time for Khazhak to slam his fist into the ground. Pulling his arm free, Khazhak goes after Tyrian again, and the two parry several attacks from their blades. Tyrian then attacks with his right pincer blades, but Khazhak stops it with his left hand before doing the same thing to Tyrian's left blades with his right hand. With the two locked, Khazhak head-butts Tyrian in the face, and then front kicks him away.

Meanwhile, the others can only watch on from the sidelines.

"Is…Is that really Khazhak?" Jaune asks.

"I've never seen him fight like this before. It's actually kind of scary," Nora adds.

"Khazhak…" Ruby mutters with worry.

Qrow looks on in contemplation, _"He's not fighting like he usually does. It's more like a mad beast that keeps rushing in, like he doesn't care if he dies in this fight. And that name…Bahamut…"_ he muses.

Back in the fight, Khazhak retracts his left blade and fires off some spark shots at Tyrian, who jumps around to evade them before he gets a chance to fire his guns back at him. Khazhak spins and rolls around all the shots before he gets close enough to activate his left blade again, and attacks with it. Tyrian blocks the strike, but then Khazhak ducks low for a low sweep kick that knocks Tyrian off his feet. Khazhak goes for another strike, but Tyrian uses his tail to counter him before pushing off his hands to land on his feet. Tyrian then swings his tail at him, making Khazhak block with his arms, which forces him to slide back. However, Khazhak jumps right back into it and punches Tyrian's tail with his right fist before throwing a left kick at him. Tyrian blocks the kick and then does a double jump kick that pushes Khazhak back. Tyrian continues the assault by swinging his tail at him, making Khazhak go flying back. Khazhak lands on his feet, stabbing his left claw into the ground to slow him down to a stop. They all look back to see Tyrian running at him.

Suddenly, Khazhak starts charging up lightning around his body, which makes Tyrian stop while the others look on in awe. The lightning then focuses around Khazhak's mouth.

"This is my new power, Tyrian! RAIRYU…ROOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRRR!" Khazhak shouts as he sends a powerful lightning breath attack like a dragon straight at him.

Tyrian manages to jump out of the way just in time while the breath attack destroys everything in its path, including a small part of the village. The others look on in awe at how powerful Khazhak has suddenly become. Khazhak breathes heavily as he looks at the destruction he just created, but then…

 **"Time's up,"** he hears Bahamut's voice say in his head, and then Khazhak's body pulsates. Khazhak suddenly coughs up blood and falls onto his hands and knees in pain. **"You can only use my power for a limited time, and you must use it carefully. I told you there would be a price for using my power, and this is it,"** Bahamut says as Khazhak's eyes return to their normal human appearance and he coughs in pain.

"Khazhak!' Ruby yells.

Khazhak slowly looks up and sees Tyrian running at him.

"Just die already!" he yells and thrusts his stinger at him.

However, just before the stinger connects, a white card appears from above and slices Tyrian's stinger off in one shot, making him reel back and scream in agonizing pain. Khazhak looks up to see Voshkie'ahk appear and stand defensively in front of him, holding several cards in her hands.

"Leave him ALONE," Voshkie'ahk warns Tyrian.

"Took you long enough!" Qrow calls out to her.

"Well, excuse me for not having the ability to turn into a bird and fly wherever I want," she retorts.

Tyrian stands up and faces her, infuriated, "You BITCH!" he yells.

Screaming in rage, he takes a step towards her, but is off balance. His advance is stopped when Jaune, Ren, and Nora move to block his path. Tyrian takes a few awkward steps back, no longer willing to fight.

"She'll forgive you," he mutters to himself and runs away.

"Hey, get back here-Ugh!" Khazhak yells before the pain makes him fall forwards. However, Voshkie'ahk immediately catches him in her arms. He calms down and slowly glances at her. "…Voshkie," he mutters weakly.

Voshkie'ahk shows a soft smile, "What am I going to do with you, Khazzy," she replies.

Everyone looks at them, but then Qrow falls onto his knees, clutching his wound now that the danger is gone, breathing heavily.

Ruby rushes to his side, hand on his shoulder, "Uncle Qrow! Are you okay?!" she asks, worried.

"…I'll be fine. He just grazed me," he says and moves his shaking hand, showing blood on it.

The rest of Team RNJR run to his side.

"Who was that guy?" Nora asks.

"How did you get here?" Ren asks.

"Why are people after Ruby and Khazhak?!" Jaune asks.

Ruby looks at Qrow, "Uncle Qrow, what's going on?" she asks.

"Qrow," they hear and they all look back to see Khazhak leaning against Voshkie'ahk, his right arm around her shoulders as she helps him walk towards them. "I think it's time you told us the truth…All of it," he says.

Qrow lowers his head and breathes heavily while clutching his abdomen again. He then looks up at Ruby.

"…What's your favorite fairytale?" he asks and then groans.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A bit of a long one, but oh well. Khazhak's power, the Dragon Spirit, and Bahamut, truly awakens now, but he hasn't yet mastered it. His power increases his strength, speed, and senses. It also allows him to use new lightning techniques without his aura or his weapon, which he couldn't do before, but only when his power is activated. As he masters more of it, more dragon scales will spread across his body, but will return to normal when it deactivates, but so will the cost. As for the breath attack, I kind of got that idea from Fairy Tale (good anime), and besides, he has the power of a dragon, of course he would have a breath attack. Anyway, Tyrian has been defeated, but now it appears Qrow has some explaining to do. What will Qrow reveal to Ruby's group? Will they learn the truth? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	63. Chapter 58: Gaining a Voice

**Here we are at Chapter 58. This one will focus on Weiss and Reaper from episodes 6 and 7 in volume 4 since the last two chapters focused on Ruby and Khazhak's group, because people were asking about that. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 58. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 58: Gaining a Voice**

 _…In Atlas…_

The concert Weiss' father had planned is now underway, with guests from all the richest corners of Atlas coming to see the show. Everyone is looking forward to the festivities, everyone except for Weiss and Reaper. Weiss is off preparing to sing in front of a large audience, while Reaper uses this opportunity for some investigating. With Jacque Schnee away for the show, his study is left completely empty, as was most of the Schnee Manor with everyone away for the concert. Reaper sneaks through the hallways of the manor until he reaches the study. First he checks the door knob and finds that it's locked. Luckily, he had a key that he managed to 'acquire' from some help. Entering the study while making sure no one was around to see him. Reaper comes through the books on the shelves for a short while, finding that none of them appear to have what he's looking for. Next, Reaper takes a chance at Jacque's computer. Activating the console, and quickly figuring out Jacque's password (it was Money4Life, how typical of Jacque), he gets into the man's files and starts screening through them. Most of the files were on stocks and finances, some with records of parts of the companies, and others on employees. However, Reaper eventually finds a file on former employees and opens it up. There were hundreds of records on former employees in the file, all of them having left the business for various reasons, but the biggest being that they were fired, and most of them were Faunus (making Reaper clench his left fist in slight anger for a moment).

"…Wait…ah, here we are," Reaper mutters as he finds a file on one Cole Darkwing, Porphyrius' father.

Reaper clicks on the file and goes through the information on Cole. It showed his job history, what he did for SDC, that he was apparently 'laid off' for failing to uphold working standards several years ago (of course, Reaper knew better). However, Reaper eventually found one item in the file that drew his attention, labelled "employee termination' and opened it up…As he scrolled through that segment, Reaper's eyes widen from behind his mask. A while later, Reaper leaves Jacque's study, head a little low, and carrying what looks like a flash drive in his left hand before he stores it away. He looks out to one of the hallways, deciding to see how Weiss was doing. He would have to speak with her soon enough anyway.

 _…A little later, at the concert…_

At the charity concert, Weiss performs onstage in front of a large audience, with her father and brother sitting up in the balcony above. Her outfit is the same, except for the skirt which is floor length and split to her thigh on her left side, without the white ribbon, and she has on chunky heels instead. She stands alone on a large, empty stage, singing a wordless aria, her arms outstretched. Standing in the center, she is positioned below the emblem for Atlas that covers most of the stage as the shattered moon shines brightly upon her as she sings, the song changing to emphatic lyrics.

"… _I'm not your pet. Not another thing you own. I was not born guilty of your crimes. The riches and your influence can't hold me anymore. I won't be possessed, burdened by your royal test. I will not surrender. This life is mine_ ," she sings beautifully.

The song ends and Weiss bows to the audience, who clap and applaud her for her performance. She looks up to her father and brother. Her brother shows a sarcastic clap, while her father remains seated, not clapping at all. She then looks back to the audience and then turns around to leave the stage, replacing her fake smile with a frown. Up above, in the shadows, Reaper watches on.

"She always did have a beautiful singing voice," Reaper notes before reentering the shadows, feeling a little better after hearing her sing.

Later on, a waiter carrying a tray of martini glasses enters the ballroom, filled with guests having their conversations as a piano plays soft notes in the background. Everyone is wearing luxurious, and expensive, attire for the evening. In one part of the ballroom, Weiss stands next to her father on his right, with Whitley on his left, as he talks with a few of the patrons.

"..That's precisely my point. We offer Faunus the exact same wages given to the rest of our mining staff. Their arguments are completely invalid right out of the gate," he says.

Weiss sighs to herself, as she knows how wrong her father's words are. She looks back to see a large painting of Beacon Academy, what it looked like before the fall.

"…Atlas, Mantle. You can't deny the economic disparity between the two," one businessman talking to her father says.

"I mean, what exactly are you suggesting?" a businesswoman asks.

Meanwhile, Weiss begins to move away, but her father quickly grabs her left arm to stop her without looking, and pulls her closer.

"Where are you going?" he whispers as he looks at her.

"I'm…just a little thirsty," she lies.

"Sweetheart, we have people for that," he says as he lets go to call a waiter over.

Weiss, however. Stops him by grabbing his forearm, making Whitley show a sideways glance at her.

"What? No, I can get it. I'll be right back, I promise," she says.

Jacques stares at her for a moment while the conversation continues.

"Look, no one asked them to move here," the businesswoman says.

"But companies like the SDC promised jobs," the businessman replies.

Jacques releases Weiss and allows her to go while he turns back to the conversation.

"I'm sorry, I tuned out for a second, but sounds like I'd the good guy again?" he says, and laughs along with the businessman.

Weiss walks across the ballroom to stand in front of the Beacon painting with her arms crossed.

"It's beautiful," she hears to her right and looks to see a young man with dark blue hair swept over the left side of his face, wearing a dark red long-sleeved shirt under a dark vest with a red tie, black-red pants and a silver chain on his hip. "You two match," he tries to woo her, much to her annoyance.

She keeps a cold expression on her face, "Yes, it's a lovely painting," she says.

"So, that was my attempt at breaking the ice. How I'm doing so far?" he asks.

Weiss sighs, "You are leaving a lot to be desired," she replies.

"Well I've always appreciated honesty. Henry. Marigold," he introduces himself, raising his right hand for her to shake.

Weiss looks at him, "Weiss Schnee," she replies, placing her hand lightly on his in a loose handshake.

"I know. I saw your performance, obviously," he says as they release the handshake. He clears his throat. "You were wonderful. And I promise I'm not just saying that because you're pretty…Honesty, remember. So, you thinking about buying it?" he asks, referring to the Beacon Painting.

"…No. I don't think so," she replies coldly.

"Yeah, kind of pricey for a painting," Henry says.

"It's to raise MONEY," She replies, getting more annoyed.

"Oh, really? For what?" he asks.

"For WHAT?" she asks, showing a disgusted look on her face towards him.

"Heh-heh. I'll admit, I only come to these things for the food and drinks," he says as a waiter walks by and he takes a champagne flute from his tray. "And the extraordinary company, of course," he says before sipping his drink. Weiss shifts to fully face him. "So, what? Is it another Mantle fundraiser or something?" he jokes.

"Get. Out," Weiss demands.

Henry slightly laughs, "Heh, what?" he asks.

"Get out, or I will have security escort you out," she warns him.

"But I haven't done any-," he begins.

"LEAVE!' she interrupts him, getting more aggressive.

Henry looks on disbelief, "…Pfft. Whatever," he says and walks away while finishing his drink.

Weiss closes her eyes a moment before looking back at the painting. A small sign standing in front of it shows the words 'Show the world we care. All proceeds go to the Kingdom of Vale.' Weiss closes her eyes again as the talks around her continue, until…

"Does it come as any surprise what happened to Vale?" she hears a woman say behind her and turns to look. The woman has blonde hair in a bun, and is wearing a purple dress. A trophy wife, obviously. "It was a long time coming if you ask me," she says.

"Honey," the husband places a hand on her shoulder, trying to shush her, but she shakes it off.

"What? *Laughs* You said the same thing last night. If they're so arrogant to think they can get by without proper kingdom defense, then I say good riddance," she says, making the husband lower his head with a quiet sigh.

"SHUT UP!" Weiss yells.

This makes the room go silent as everyone looks at Weiss.

"Weiss?" Jacques says.

However, Weiss remains angry, "You don't have a clue! None of you do!" she says.

"Excuse me?" the trophy wife replies in disbelief.

"You're all just standing around talking about NOTHING! Worrying about your hair, your money, your stupid problems that don't mean ANYTHING!" Weiss yells.

Jacques quickly walks over to her while Whitley looks on with a faint smile. Jacques grabs her wrist, but she tries to pull away.

"Weiss, that's enough," he orders her.

"Let go of me!" she resists him.

"You're embarrassing the family!" he retorts.

"I said let go!" she counters and manages to pull her arm free, but ends up falling onto the floor.

When she lands, one of her glyphs appears next to her and suddenly, a white Boarbatusk is summoned from her semblance. She looks on with wide eyes and her jaw dropping, but then the summoned Grimm roars before it charges at the trophy wife.

The trophy wife screams, "Ah! Please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just leave me alone!" she screams.

The summoned Boarbatusk leaps at her, but then a shot rings out, hitting the summoned Grimm, stopping it as it disappears. Everyone looks to see that it was Ironwood who shot the summoned Grimm with his pistol.

"Arrest her!" the trophy wife orders Ironwood while pointing at Weiss, but he doesn't move. "What are you waiting for? She's insane, she should be locked up!" the trophy wife says while Ironwood just looks at Weiss.

"She's the only one making sense around here," Ironwood says, refusing to arrest Weiss, which makes both Weiss and the trophy wife look in disbelief.

"For once, we're in agreement, Ironwood," they hear a slightly robotic voice say. Everyone looks back at one corner to see Reaper enter the room. "I never thought we would ever be on the same page," he says as he slowly walks deeper into the room.

"Who the Hell are you?! Guards, seize him!" Jacques orders the security.

A few guards approach Reaper, but he sends out some of his skull phantoms that hit all of them. Thanks to the skull's effects, the guards look at Reaper with fear and then run away.

"James! Stop him, now!" Jacques orders Ironwood.

Ironwood only looks at Reaper, "I think not…I wasn't expecting a member of Khazhak's team to be here of all places. But then again, I haven't seen you since the Fall of Beacon," he says.

"I am here for my own reasons," Reaper replies.

"Answer me! Who are you?!" Jacques shouts.

"…I am Edom Soul Reaper. First-year student of Beacon Academy. Member of Team KEPL. Huntsmen-in-training. The Reaper of souls. And most importantly…" Reaper says as he walks up to Weiss and offers her a hand. "I am Weiss Schnee's friend," he says.

Weiss slowly shows a small smile as she takes his hand and stands up behind Reaper.

"Weiss, come here, now!" Jacques orders her.

Weiss looks scared, but then Reaper looks back at her. Their eyes meet in a silent message, and then Weiss loses her fear and looks back at her father, shaking her head.

"What?! How dare-," Jacques begins.

"You're quite a hypocritical man, aren't you Mr. Schnee? You say Weiss is embarrassing the family, when in reality, it is YOU who is dragging the Schnee name through the mud. Weiss Schnee fought on the frontlines during the Fall of Beacon, defending our beloved school. Something I know you will never do. Something no one in this room except for me, Weiss, and Ironwood would do!" he yells out so everyone can hear. "That's why I know that Weiss Schnee is better than all of you. She knows what is truly important, and she is stronger than any of you. But most of all, I see her for her true worth," he says and turns to look at Weiss. "Because her true worth is something you CAN'T put a price tag on," he says, making Weiss smile. Reaper the turns back to a steaming Jacque. "What's more, I find it hard to believe that you are the one defending the Schnee name…when you have so much innocent blood on your hands. Tell me, how many of your former employees suddenly wind up DEAD after they speak out against you for the poor working conditions they have to go through? What would your business associates think…when they find out you are nothing more than a greedy man that would even kill his own workers just to keep control and make money? Reaper mockingly asks. This causes people in the room to start murmuring to themselves as they glance at Jacque, who glances around at them, looking a little nervous. "Well, this has been a lovely party, but I must depart now," he says and sends up three skull phantoms that hit the lights above them, turning them off. Everyone freaks out in the darkness, but Weiss feels a hand on her shoulder and looks right into the glowing red eyes of Reaper's mask. "I have to go now, but I'll be nearby. Stay strong, Weiss," he whispers and disappears.

The lights come back on again a moment later, and Weiss sees that Reaper is gone. She then looks at her father, who looks around before turning to her, glaring at her.

… _Later that evening, back at the Schnee manor…_

Weiss sits on her bed in her room, head lowered and hands folded in her lap while her father paces back and forth in front of her.

"Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable," he says before he stops and turns to Weiss. "Do you have any idea what your stunt cost us?" he asks.

"I-," she begins.

"And don't think I'm just talking about lien here! Our reputation! Our…Our…," Jacques angrily sighs and holds his head. "Not only that, but then we had an intruder ruin the event, saying he was a 'friend of yours'. He even went as far as to bring those baseless accusations against the company and me. My security couldn't find him, nor find any records of him. Just who the Hell was he?!" he yells.

Weiss looks down, but then raises her head up, "His name is Reaper, and he IS a friend of mine from Beacon. He was a student like me, and we became friends. He was there, fighting right beside me during the Fall of Beacon," she says.

"Oh, please. If he was really a friend, then why does he wear a mask? I'll bet he's just as bad as the White Fang," Jacques retorts.

"He is human. And more importantly, he wears that mask because he suffered severe burns to his face when he was young," Weiss says. _"Of course that's all I'm telling you about him."_

"Hmpf. He should've never been here in the first place. We have no time, or money, to waste on filth like that. It seems you have forgotten many things about this family since you left for Beacon," Jacques insults Reaper, making Weiss clenches her fists.

Weiss hangs her head slightly, "I want to leave," she declares.

"I beg your pardon?" her father asks.

Weiss looks back at him, "I said I want to LEAVE. I don't want to stay here anymore. I don't want to stay in Atlas anymore!" she says.

"Young lady, I don't give a damn about what you want! This isn't about YOU! This about the Schnee family name and your apparent insistence on dragging it through the mud!" he angrily argues back.

Weiss stands up, "I became a huntress to uphold the Schnee name, just as my grandfather did long ago when he started the company, and the family legacy. I have done NOTHING but fight to uphold the honor of MY family name, a name that you married into!" she yells.

But then Jacques slaps her hard on her left cheek, making her head spin to the side as she gasps. Putting her hand on her cheek, she turns to face her father, looking shocked as she lowers her hand. Jacques stares back, looking unrepentant.

"This behavior of yours is incredibly disappointing," he begins, his voice calmer, but still intimidating. "You couldn't possibly understand the lengths I've gone to in order to keep this family where it is. What I've had to do to keep it strong against vermin like that masked freak that ruined the party. You think running off like your sister, and befriending people like that are going to make the Schnee name stronger? You're wrong. Ridiculous actions such as those only makes our family weaker," he says.

"I'm not doing anything to make the family seem weak. I'm doing what I feel is right, and that does NOT include wasting my time up here. The people of Atlas have no idea what I've been through, nor what Reaper has gone through, or anyone that's not from Atlas. I refuse to spend another minute with these people," she retorts as Jacques rolls his eyes and walks away. "The Schnee family legacy isn't yours to leave. It's MINE, and I'll do it as a huntress," she finishes.

Jacques stops and slowly turns to face her, "No, you won't," he starts and slowly walks to stand in front of her. "You're not leaving Atlas. You're not leaving the manor grounds unless I specifically allow it. You ARE going to remain here, out of sight and out of trouble, until you and I come to an agreement on your future," he says.

"What?!" Weiss exclaims.

"Your presupposition that you can simply have whatever you want is a clear sign of our failure as parents. But from now on, I'll be giving you the full attention you require, starting by keeping you where I can see you. And keeping you away from animals like that 'Reaper' individual," he explains and turns to walk away again.

Weiss looks shocked, "You can't just keep me from leaving!" she replies.

Jacques once more stops and turns to face her, "I can. And the staff here will make sure of it," he says.

"So now I'm just your prisoner?!" she asks.

"You are my daughter. You're a child, and children are grounded when they misbehave," he says, and turns to walk away again.

"This is only going to make things worse, Father. People will ask questions! They'll want to know why the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company is suddenly nowhere to be found!" she says.

Jacques stops in front of the door and turns to face her, "Which is why you are no longer heiress to the Schnee Dust Company," he claims.

Weiss steps back, stunned, "Excuse me?" she asks, unable to believe what she heard.

"Clearly the trauma you endured at the Fall of Beacon was too much for you. Which is why you've generously revoked your claim to the company and its earnings and passed it on to your brother Whitley," he makes up a false story. Weiss can only breathe heavily as she stares at her father in shock. "It's time to wake up and face reality," he says and leaves.

However, as he opens the door and leaves, Weiss can see Whitley through the opening, having been eavesdropping on their conversation. Jacques leaves without saying anything to him. Weiss remains still for a moment as she deals with this, but then steps out into the hall with her fists clenched, seeing her brother walk down the hallway in a different direction than their father.

"Whitley!" she yells.

Whitley turns with a small smile, "Yes, sister?" he politely asks.

Weiss walks up to him and crosses her arms, "Did you know about this?" she asks, looking angry.

"About what?" he asks like he has no idea what's going on.

"You never liked Winter. You never liked ME. But you've been nothing but supportive since the moment I came back," she says.

"If being kind to my big sister is some sort of crime, then I suppose I'm guilty," he replies, hand on his chest.

Weiss' eyes widen with realization, "You WANTED this to happen," she says.

Whitley leans forward, losing his fake smile for an angrier and threatening expression.

"It's foolish not to do as Father asks," he says.

Weiss looks on with a look of hurt and betrayal, "I can't believe you," she says.

"Don't worry, Weiss. The Schnee family name is in good hands," he says and turns to walk away as Weiss stares back at him.

Weiss walks back into her room with the door closed, and collapses on her bed, crying. She cries for a moment longer, until a hand comes on her shoulder.

"Weiss…" she hears and looks up to see Reaper standing behind her. Weiss stares for a moment before she stands up and presses herself against Reaper, who holds her with his left arm while she cries. "I am truly sorry for what happened to you. Family is supposed to be there for you whenever you need them, not hurt you and stab you in the back every chance they get," he says and slowly moves Weiss to look at her. He gently wipes away her tears. "I may have not gone through exactly what you went through just now, but…I know what it's like to be betrayed by family," he says.

Weiss hangs her head before looking back at him, "You mean…Like what happened between you and your father after your mother died?" she asks, and he slowly nods. "Do…you ever think about seeing him again?" she asks.

Reaper turns away, "No. I have absolutely no intention of ever seeing that bastard ever again. He is no longer my father. My father died on the same night that my mother perished in that fire. The same night I got these scars," he says, placing his left hand on his mask.

Weiss thinks for a moment before looking back at him, "Does…Does it hurt? The burns?" she asks.

"It used to, but I have since gotten so used to the pain that I don't even feel it anymore. I was lucky enough that I didn't lose my sight because of it," he says as he turns to face her again.

"Do you…think I could see it? You face?" she asks.

Reaper remains still for a moment before he raises his left arm into his hood, pressing a switch on the back which makes the back section of his mask, which covers the top and back of his head, fold into the mask while air blows out of the pits on the sides.

"If you wish to see, then take the mask off," he says.

Weiss slowly reaches up and grasps the mask's edges before pulling it off. What she sees stuns her greatly. Behind the mask, Reaper's face is extremely pale, even more so than Weiss' face. Second degree burns cover his whole face, part of his skull, and part of his neck. Without thinking, Weiss reaches up and slowly places her left hand on his right cheek. Reaper winces from the contact, making her pull her hand back.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!" she says.

"It's okay…Just haven't felt anything on my face in a long time other than my mask," he replies, his voice suddenly dry, raspy, and weak.

Weiss looks shocked at seeing how different his voice is without the mask before slowly placing her hand back on his face. This time, Reaper breathes a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

"I'm fine…Your hand is cold, but…It's a nice feeling," he says, closing his eyes.

Weiss blushes a little at this, but shows a small smile. However, that smile is quickly lost when Reaper suddenly starts coughing violently and falls onto his knees, dropping his twin-scythe before he rolls over onto his back on the floor, still coughing.

"Reaper, what's wrong!?" she says as she gets down on her knees next to him, dropping his mask. Reaper keeps coughing, but manages to point to his mask. Realizing what he meant, Weiss grabs his mask and gives it to him. Reaper puts his mask back on, securing it in place, and breathes heavily as his coughing calms down. "Are you okay?" she asks with worry.

Reaper sighs heavily, "I'm…fine…It's just been a long time since I last took off my mask. It hard to breath without it," he says, his breathing calmer now.

Weiss breathes a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness," she says, but then gets an idea. "Here, this should help," she says and moves his head to lay on her lap, making her blush a little more.

"What are you doing?" he asks, bewildered.

Weiss looks away, "This…should help you breathe a little better. And this should be better than the cold hard floor," she replies.

Reaper grunts in amusement, "I see. Thank you," he says.

"It must be hard having to wear that all the time," she says, holding his head in her hands.

"It's better than the alternative," he says.

"What's that?" she asks.

"Weiss…When I said that it's hard to breathe without this mask, there's more to it than that," he says.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"The fire damaged my ability to breathe so much…that I can only survive with this mask," he admits.

Weiss' eyes widen, "Wait, are you saying that…" she trails off.

"If I ever lose this mask, I'll only have around fifteen minutes to breathe on my own…and if I can't reach it within that time frame…I suffocate to death," he says.

"What? This whole time, you've been fighting while risking the chance of losing your mask and dying?!" she asks.

"This is my choice. I have always had a choice…Just as you've always had a choice," he says.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

"You CHOSE to come to Beacon. You CHOSE to become a huntress to restore your family's honor. And you CHOSE to return here. Now, you are no longer the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. So I ask you, Weiss Schnee, what do you CHOOSE to do now?" he asks.

Weiss thinks for a moment before she notices two airships fly by her window, and then gets a determined look in her eye.

"Help me move some of this stuff," she says, and they get up.

Weiss moves to the window and pulls the curtains shuts. She and Reaper then push her bed over several feet, then Weiss pushes a desk back while Reaper kicks aside a low glass bench at the foot of her bed, making a large space in the corner of her room. Weiss walks over to a vanity table with a long white case marked by the Schnee family symbol on it. She opens the box, revealing her weapon Myrtenaster and a few Dust vials inside. She lifts her weapon and holds her blade directly in front of her face, smiling.

"There they are," Reaper says and Weiss turns to face him. "Those are the eyes. Those are the eyes of the Weiss Schnee I remember. The Weiss Schnee who CHOOSES her own fate," he says with pride.

"Thank you, Reaper…For everything," she says.

"No thanks are needed. We still have much to do. Now then, let us begin…" he declares. _"I will have to tell her soon enough about what I found…but for now, I must focus on her needs, not my own."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Another long one, but I was basically putting scenes from two episodes together along with some other stuff. It may have been more on Weiss than Reaper, but this was about her more than him. Anyway, Weiss has now seen Reaper's face, and Reaper has apparently found something on Jacque's computer. Meanwhile, Reaper helps Weiss with her training. Will Reaper help Weiss escape her prison? What did he find about Porphyrius' father? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	64. Chapter 59: Much Needed Answers

**Here we are at Chapter 59. This one goes back to Ruby and Khazhak's group, but the next one will go back to Blake and Porphyrius. Now time for some much needed answers to some very important questions. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 59. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 59: Much Needed Answers**

… _In Anima, at night…_

Ruby's group, along with Qrow and Voshkie'ahk sit around a campfire, sitting on four different logs. Qrow, with his abdomen bandaged up, and Voshkie'ahk sit on one log, across from them is Ren and Nora, to their right is Ruby and Khazhak, who has his sword out as he rests against it, still weak from using his power earlier. Finally, Jaune sits of Qrow and Voshkie'ahk's left. They all listen as Qrow finished telling them the truth about Ozpin's group, their mission, and the Four Maidens.

 **"Heh, so the Maiden powers choose their hosts. How very…poetic. And ridiculous. The fact that the qualifications for choosing the next host certainly make it even more absurd from my point of view,"** Bahamut notes from Khazhak's mind.

Qrow takes a swig of his flask, "Really? No questions?" he asks after explaining everything.

"Of course we have questions. This is just…a lot to take in," Jaune says, a little angry as he lowers his head.

Qrow sighs, "Sure, of course," he says.

"So these…Maidens…They're powerful fighters that don't need Dust to use magic," Ruby says.

"Yeah," Qrow replies.

"And there are four of them?" Nora asks, holding up four fingers.

"Yup. Always," Qrow nods.

"Which means that, whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone – a female – that they cared about?" Ren asks.

"Whoever was in their thoughts last. That's the key part you're forgetting, Ren. And I'm guessing you mainly like it when it's someone you know and trust, right Qrow?" Khazhak corrects him.

"Yeah, that does make things easier for us," Qrow notes.

"And that's what you were trying to do to Pyrrha…The night the tower feel. You were trying to turn her into one of them," Jaune says accusingly.

"The previous Fall Maiden, Amber, had been attacked. She was young, inexperienced. And her assailant, who we now know is Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well," Qrow explains.

Jaune looks angry at him, "So you forced it on Pyrrha," he says, eyes narrowed.

"Jaune…" Khazhak attempts to warn him.

"We didn't force ANYTHING. We explained the situation and gave her a choice, and she chose. You were there, you heard her," Qrow corrects him, and then looks at Khazhak. "And you already knew about this," he says.

This makes everyone look at Khazhak.

"Khazhak, what is he talking about?" Ruby asks.

Khazhak sighs, "The day Pyrrha was called to Ozpin's office, where they planned to tell her everything, I followed her. Something didn't feel right, so I followed her from the shadows. I followed them down into the vault below the school, and overheard everything they told her," Khazhak says.

Jaune looks angry at him, "…So you knew? You knew, and you didn't think to stop her?" he asks.

"Believe me, I didn't like any of it. The thought that we were just being used as pawns, sent into a war we never knew we were fighting. It disgusted me. However, that was Pyrrha's choice, not mine. I told her I would respect her decision, whatever it may be. However, I also told her that every choice has a cost. She could've declined, but then she would've had to pay a high price for it," Khazhak explains.

 **"A wise piece of advice,"** Bahamut mutters.

"Like what?!" Jaune asks, still angry.

"Like YOU, Jaune!" Khazhak retorts, leaving everyone stunned. "Pyrrha knew that if she didn't do this, that you would die instead of her. And deep down, you know this to be true as well. She made her choice. If it meant protecting you, her team, her friends, and the people of Remnant, then as a true huntress, she CHOSE to do this. Unfortunately, the cost for this choice was higher than any one of us thought. But still, she died so you could live. So we all could live and continue the fight. And you acting like a spoiled brat here brings only shame to her memory and her sacrifice," Khazhak says.

Jaune is taken aback by Khazhak's words, "…How could you say that? Didn't you care at all about her?!" Jaune asks.

"I did. Not as much as you, but I did. Pyrrha was my friend. But the fact is, she's DEAD, and nothing will bring her back. So I will honor her memory the only way I can. By living. Living my life since she can no longer live hers, and continue to fight for what she wanted to protect. That's how I'll honor her. If you truly cared about her, you would do the same," Khazhak says.

Jaune hangs his head a moment before getting up and walking several feet away from the group while Qrow watches him go. Ruby places a hand on Khazhak's shoulder, getting him to calm down a bit. Khazhak then looks back to Qrow. "…That guy we fought earlier, Tyrian – why was he after Ruby and I?" he asks.

Qrow sighs again, "Well, you definitely painted a target on your back with what you did at Beacon, both of you. I told you, Ruby, that having silver eyes is a rare trait. And the fact that you were able to use them seems to have upset some very powerful people. Not many people know about the silver eyes. Those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. For you Khazhak, the fact that you've unlocked the power of the Dragon Spirit only upset them even more. The story is that once every few hundred years or so, a human born with the power of a dragon is born, and is gifted with tremendous power. What Khazhak did back in that fight with Tyrian was an example of it. Now, his power isn't quite as unique as yours, Ruby, but it can still do some serious damage. Grimm may not fear it, but it can still kill them either way," Qrow explains.

"No, that's not exactly correct," Khazhak interrupts him.

"What do you mean?" Qrow asks.

"There's a dragon within me. His name…is Bahamut. He told me that dragons used to exist on Remnant, and fought against the Grimm, but lost. To ensure his race's survival, he performed an ancient ritual, one that would bind his will to his descendants. To me. His will is now bound to mine in a covenant of sorts. During the battle, we made a deal, one where he would grant me a small portion of his power to use as I see fit. However, there is also a price for this power. I can only use it as a last resort, and only for a limited time. After I reach the time limit, my body goes through intense pain, and I'm left in a weakened state. That's how it works. Bahamut can also see and hear everything that I see and hear," Khazhak explains.

"Khazhak…" Ruby mutters.

"I chose this, milady. I have no regrets," Khazhak says.

Qrow hums, "Bahamut…That name has come up in a story or two. A dragon that brought destruction wherever he went. The Dragon of Destruction, they called him. Can he hear what I'm saying?" Qrow asks.

 **"Indeed,"** Khazhak hears Bahamut's voice in his head, and nods to Qrow.

Qrow hums again, "Hmmm. Anyway, the fact that you both have awakened your powers has made some trouble for some dangerous people, which is why that Tyrian guy came after you two. That's why I've been keeping an eye on you in order to make sure you were safe. ALL of you," Qrow says, gesturing the last comment to Jaune.

"Well, then, why not just travel with us? It seems that would've been way easier," Ruby asks.

"He was using you as bait," Jaune says with his back turned, still angry.

However suddenly, a white card flies by him, cutting off a few locks of his hair, stunning him, as he turns around to see it was Voshkie'ahk who threw the card as it flew right back to her.

"How dare you! Master Qrow would never do something like that. Sure, he may be cynical and a drunk, but he would never intentionally put his family in harm's way!" Voshkie'ahk defends him.

"…Master Qrow?" Ruby asks, confused.

Khazhak slowly stands up, "Jaune, I may not have fully regained my strength, but I'm still strong enough to kick your ass. So I suggest you drop the attitude. You'll only make yourself look like a bigger fool than before," Khazhak warns him.

Jaune grits his teeth and looks away.

Ruby grabs Khazhak's right arm, "Khazhak, please. This isn't the time," she calms him down, making him sit back down next to her.

"Enough, sit back down, kid," Qrow gestures to Voshkie'ahk, who reluctantly agrees. "As I was about to say, it's not like that – it's just complicated," he says.

Jaune faces him, "What IS all of this? Ruby and Khazhak are being targeted, the schools are being attacked, all for what? What is the point of all of this?! Will you just tell us what's going on?!" Jaune demands.

Qrow sighs, "Would you sit down? You're stressin' me out, kid," he says. Jaune sits down, arms crossed and still a little angry. Qrow goes to take another sip of his flask, but then changes his mind before it reaches his lips. "Not many people are super religious these days," he says before he caps and sets the flask down. "This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods and legends. The legends regarding dragons, like Bahamut, are some of them, though there are plenty that are completely fiction, or even misunderstood. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real. They were two brothers. The older sibling, the god of light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the god of darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the god of darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do to rid Remnant of life. The older brother also apparently created the dragons as well, but then the younger brother used his power to give them incredible power that was often at times used for destruction. However, Life always found a way to come back. So one night, the younger brother went and made something unique – something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything," Qrow explains.

"The Grimm," Khazhak deduces.

"Yep. Combining this story with what Khazhak told us about Bahamut, it seems that after the Grimm destroyed the dragon race, the older brother finally had enough with the younger brother's antics. They fought for eons, and eventually the older brother overpowered the younger one. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation…together, something that they both could be proud of, their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow – the path of light or the path of darkness. And that is how Humanity came to be," Qrow says.

"But…How are we a part of this?" Ruby asks.

"Well, that's the kicker. See, the four gifts to mankind – knowledge, creation, destruction, and choice – aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant, and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world, and remake it however they want. That's exactly what the enemy wants. The huntsman academies were created to train generations of Humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose – guarding the relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would constantly be surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding them would keep mankind from using them against itself…and, of course, keeping them out of HER reach…So yeah, there's that," Qrow finishes the story.

"Her…You mean Salem?" Ruby asks as they all look at her.

 **"The leader of the Grimm. My people never did learn about the true identity of the Grimm's master, but now I know. Perhaps, if we knew before, my kind would still be alive,"** Bahamut notes.

"This Salem is the mastermind behind everything that happened in Vale, huh?" Khazhak asks.

"That's right. And not just in Vale. Not much is known about her. Quite frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the relics, and if she gets them, it's not going to end well," Qrow says.

"If she gets them, it would mean the end of humanity, of everything we know and love," Khazhak says, to which Qrow nods in agreement.

"Alright. So, let's say we believe all this. There really is this crazy evil being behind these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful. Why doesn't the world know? Why isn't Atlas going after them? Or Mistral?" Jaune asks, getting worried.

"And why aren't we in more of a hurry to get to Haven? Shouldn't we be getting them a message? What if they're next?" Nora asks, equally worried.

"The headmaster over there saw what happened to Beacon. He's not dumb. He'll be on his guard. Besides, it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you really think they planned out that attack on Beacon overnight?" Qrow replies.

"As for your question, Jaune, it's about ignorance basically. Just like how Ozpin's group kept the Maidens hidden, they did the same with the Relics. If the people of Remnant learned about the Relics, it would cause chaos, as much as I hate to admit it. We would have another Great War to deal with, and this time, people like us would have to fight it. The kingdoms of Remnant barely survived the first Great War, and Grimm caused wide-spread destruction across the planet because there was no one around to fight them. If another Great War were to occur, there would NO survivors, and Salem and the Grimm would be the only victors," Khazhak reasons.

Qrow sighs, "Khazhak's right again. But ol' Ozpin would always put his foot down. 'We can't cause a panic.' Heh, can't tell you how many times I've heard that," he says before taking out his flask again. "Salem's smart. She works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants, so that when it comes time to place the blame, we can only point at each other," he continues before sipping his flask, and then looks up at the broken moon. "She's trying to divide us – humanity, and so far she's doing a pretty dame good job," he says before hanging his head with a sigh.

"Alright, so what should we do?" Ruby asks.

Qrow chuckles, "I don't really know," he says, making them all look at each other, feeling nervous, before looking back at him. "Ozpin has put a lot of trust in the headmasters. Like I said, the schools are an important part of stopping Salem. Atlas is going to be on high alert after the last attack, and Vacuo is – well, Vacuo. It'll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight against other thieves and scoundrels. Take that, add in the fact that Cinder and her crew claim to be from Haven, and I think it's likely the next target. So, we're on our way to the headmaster. Haven't heard from him in a while, even before the attack. I'm hoping he has the answers," Qrow says before standing, grabbing his bandaged wound while he puts his flask away. He groans, "Alright, I think it's time you kids got some sleep," he says.

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby says, making him look at her, while she stands up, along with Khazhak.

"Yeah?" Qrow asks.

"This is a lot to take in, and it all sounds crazy, but…I'm willing to do whatever I can to help because I trust you. But why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us, instead of this secrecy, and, and-," Ruby begins.

Khazhak then places his right hand on Ruby's shoulder, "He was protecting Ruby. Not from secrets…but from something else…From himself," Khazhak says.

Qrow sighs and stares at the fire, "Nothing really gets by you, huh?... Did you know that crows are a sign of bad luck? Old superstition, but it's how I got my name," he begins before kneeling down, picking up a stick and poking the fire with it. "See, some people can absorb electricity, or use lightning as a weapon, and some people can burst into rose petals, and some people are just born unlucky. My semblance isn't like most – it's not exactly something I do. It's always there, whether I like it or not. I bring Misfortune," he says, chuckling bitterly. "I guess you could call me a bad luck charm. Comes in real handy when I'm fighting an enemy, but it makes it a little hard on friends…and family," he says, looking at Ruby before he stands up, still holding his side.

"You can't control it, so you kept your distance to protect Ruby," Khazhak says, and Qrow nods with a hum.

Qrow looks down a little, "Yeah…" he says and turns to walk away slowly.

"Where are you going?" Ren asks.

"Taking a walk. Voshkie, stay here," he says.

"Yes, Master Qrow," she replies with a nod.

"There's nothing else you want to tell us?" Ruby asks.

Just then, a red-eyed raven lands on a tree branch with a quiet caw. Qrow looks at it, and it cocks its head, looking back at him.

"Not tonight," Qrow says and slowly continues his walk away from them.

The rest of the group watches him leave until one of the logs in the fire he prodded earlier rolls out of the campfire. Ruby just watches her uncle go, concerned.

"He just needs some space for now," Voshkie'ahk says.

"…Well, with that out of the way, now it's your turn. First, who are you exactly?" Jaune asks.

"I'm…well, I…" Voshkie'ahk trails off.

"Everyone…" Khazhak says, getting their attention. "Meet Voshkie'ahk Ryukado…My younger sister," he says.

"…WHAT?!" the others yell.

"Sister? Since when did you have a sister?" Nora asks.

"Wait, Khazhak, I thought you said your sister was dead?!" Ruby says.

"Wait, your sister is supposed to be dead?!" Jaune exclaims.

"I do have a sister, and I thought she WAS dead. At least…until the train incident at Mountain Glenn," he says as he looks at Ruby. "During our battle on the train underground, I met Voshkie'ahk in one of the cars. She wasn't working with them, rather she was sent by an 'associate' of hers that wanted to test my skills. We fought, I won, and that's when she revealed who she was," he says as he turns to face Voshkie'ahk. "Considering your connection with Qrow, I can only assume that Ozpin was the 'associate' you spoke of, correct?" he asks.

"You are correct, brother," she replies.

"Voshkie'ahk, I have pushed this question to the side for some time, but now I must know…What happened to you? What happened to you…the night our parents were killed?" he asks.

Voshkie'ahk looks at the fire, "…That night, when you and Father were away on another training trip, I found an injured fox outside our home. I brought it inside to see if we could help, and Mother agreed to help me. However…later that night, you and Father were late…and then it happened," she says solemnly.

"The Grimm," Khazhak mutters.

"No…It wasn't the Grimm," she says, getting his attention. "That night, we heard a knock on the door, and Mother went to see who it was. That's when it happened. Mother was attacked and came running into the kitchen, making me hide in one of the cabinets, but I could still glance through an opening…It wasn't Grimm that attacked her…It was a man. He was shrouded in a black cloak, and he had a black sword. The injured fox tried to help, but he killed it. And then he…He killed her with his bare hands," she says, her voice trembling. "He was looking for me, I think he had come for all of us. He set the house on fire when he couldn't find me, thinking that would've killed me. I had to hold my cries and my tears back so he wouldn't hear me, and when I believed he had finally left, I managed to escape the house. I knew there was nothing I could do for Mother…She was already gone," she said as tears started to form in her eyes before she wiped them away. "I thought the reason you and Father hadn't come back was because he got to you as well. I didn't know what to do, and then someone else came by…It was Qrow. Apparently, he and Father were old friends, and he had come for a visit, but ran over when he saw the fire. He saved me that day, and took me to Ozpin. I believed you were gone, so I stayed with them. Truth be told, I also possess the Dragon Spirit just like you brother. Only my connection to the power doesn't appear to be as strong as yours, and the dragon I am connected to is a female dragon called Tiamat," Voshkie'ahk explains.

 **"Tiamat! She was my sister, and one of the few dragon survivors that performed the ancient ritual with me. To think that there were others besides me that survived,"** Bahamut says.

 **"It has been too long, dear brother,"** Khazhak hears the voice of Tiamat in his head, though her voice is much less intimidating and more angelic in a way.

"I can hear Tiamat's voice in my head. I suppose that means that you can hear Bahamut's?" Khazhak asks.

"Yes, though it appears that only those with the Dragon Spirit can communicate with the dragons," Voshkie'ahk says.

"I see...So, after you were rescued by Qrow and brought to Ozpin, you decided to become a huntress," Khazhak says.

Voshkie'ahk nods, "I wanted to keep our family legacy going, so I told them to train me, though not as a student in their school. They cared for me, and because he was the one that saved me, I started calling Qrow my master, as was our old traditions. They trained me, and I learned how to fight. And so, I became a member of their group, and worked alongside Master Qrow on missions for Ozpin," she says.

"Then why didn't you come to me sooner when you learned I was alive?" Khazhak asks.

"How could I? For five years, I was safe, while you were fighting from one battle to the next. I couldn't face you, not as your sister. The only way I could face you was as an opponent. That was the only way I could do it. But you must know, I was beyond happy that you were alive. I just had a little hard time in seeing how much you changed in those five years we were separated. I'm sorry, brother," she says.

 **"There was nothing you could have done about that, my child,"** Tiamat says.

Khazhak looks down, thinking, before he sighs, "…I'm just glad you're alive, Voshkie. That's all that matters," he says, showing a soft gaze at her.

Voshkie'ahk shows s small smile, "Thanks, Khazzy," she says.

Nora snickers, "Heh, 'Khazzy'," she giggles, making Khazhak groan.

"If you don't mind me asking, is that why you changed your last name? So you wouldn't be recognized as his sister?" Ren asks.

"Not quite," she replies.

"It's a tradition in our family. Our family has been one of warriors for generations. For those that choose to live a normal life, their last name is just 'Ryu'. But for those that train to become warriors, their last name gets changed to match their abilities in battle. My last name, Rairyu, means thunder dragon, in relation to my lightning semblance," Khazhak explains.

"Yes, my semblance is different. I can manipulate the composition of anything I touch, making it as fragile as glass, or as hard as steel. But, because I use cards infused with Dust as my weapons, I changed my last name to Ryukado, which means 'the dragon of cards' basically," she explains.

"I see. Your family has some interesting beliefs, Khazhak," Ren notes.

"I think that's enough for now. We should all get some sleep," he says before turning to Ruby. "Milady, may I speak with you for a moment, in private?" he asks.

"Um, okay," she replies, and the two walk away from the group. After reaching a good distance, they stop. "Khazhak, what do you want to talk to me about?" she asks. It is then that Khazhak kneels before her, and bows his head. "Khazhak?" she mutters.

"Milady, I must apologize. As your servant, it is my duty to protect you…And I have failed in that duty," he says, keeping his head down.

"Khazhak, what are you saying? You did protect me. You fought against that Tyrian guy and stopped him from killing me," she says, shaking her head.

"That was because of Bahamut, not because of my own strength. And you were nearly killed because of my inability to protect you as your servant. I failed you, my Master. I failed you…Again," he replies.

Ruby then gets down on her knees and cups Khazhak's face in her hands to get him to look at her.

"Khazhak, you didn't fail me. You've NEVER failed me. You have always been there for me, no matter what. You saved me, just like you did time and time again back in Vale. And that is why I know that you will never let me down," she says, smiling at him.

"Milady…" he mutters, surprised.

"And will you just please call me Ruby again, or even little rose. This 'Milady' stuff isn't for me. Please, I miss how you would always call me by my name," she pleads.

Khazhak slowly smiles at her, "As you wish…Ruby," he replies.

Ruby then notices the position they're in, and how close their faces are to each other, and quickly steps away with a blush.

"W-w-well we should probably get back to the others before they get worried," she says and quickly heads back to camp.

 **"That girl is definitely an interesting human,"** Bahamut says.

"You have no idea," Khazhak mutters.

He returns to the camp and they all head in for the night, but then Khazhak notices Ruby motioning for him to come near her.

"What is it, Ruby?" he asks, kneeling next to her.

Ruby blushes as she looks away, "Will…Will you…sleep next to me for tonight. I-I-I mean, just so, you know, you won't…get cold, and I'll know you're nearby," she stutters.

Hearing this makes Khazhak blush," Um, okay," he says and lays down next to her on his back.

Ruby snuggles closer to him while in her sleeping bag, and smiles.

"Thanks Khazhak…Goodnight," she says.

"Goodnight Ruby," he replies and they both fall asleep.

Qrow returns a few minutes later and notices Ruby and Khazhak's position. He also notices how unconsciously, Ruby's hands have clasped around Khazhak's right hand, who returns the hold. He shows a soft smile before going to sit up against a tree and falls asleep. Morning soon arrived as everyone, aside from Khazhak and Qrow, are in their sleeping bags. After a moment, Ren sits up and sighs.

"We should probably get moving," he says.

Jaune then sits up, "Yeah, yeah," he replies.

"Agreed," Khazhak says as he sits up, slowly removing his hand from Ruby's with a slight blush.

But then, the three of them turn at the sound of Qrow coughing, with it only getting louder and worse with each passing second. The others quickly wake up, and Ruby quickly moves to her uncle's side with the others in tow.

"Master Qrow, what's wrong?" Voshkie'ahk asks, concerned.

The see purple stains on his bandages as he holds them with his right hand, and coughs into his left. When he pulls his left hand away, groaning, they all see it covered in the same purple stains. Ruby gasps as her eyes go wide while Qrow looks at his hand.

"Poison!" Khazhak says.

Qrow then looks up at Ruby, "Well, that's unfortunate," he says and groans before lowering his hand and hanging his head as he passes out.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Another long one, but what can you do? Khazhak and Ruby's group learn the truth about the Relics and Salem, but now a poisoned Qrow draws their concerns. I think it's an interesting thing that both Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk are apprentices of the Branwen siblings, don't you? Anyway, next chapter is on Blake and Porphyrius. What awaits our heroes in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	65. Chapter 60: Old Friend, New Enemy

**Here we are at Chapter 60. Now that we've spent some time with Ruby and Khazhak, let's see how the others are doing. This one takes place during the events of the last few chapters, with Blake and Porphyrius. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 60. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 60: Old Friend, New Enemy**

Not much has been going on since Porphyrius and Blake arrived in Menagerie. Blake continues to mostly keep to herself while trying to reconnect with her family, Sun getting on her father's bad side, and Porphyrius continuing his training with his semblance, and his mission of watching over Blake. However, Porphyrius has also been keeping his eye out for any signs of the White Fang. Knowing that there is a branch of them working here in Menagerie doesn't help him one bit, unless Adam Taurus is here as well, though he highly doubts it. For now, all he can do is keep doing what he's doing, and wait for when Blake is finally ready to get off her lazy butt and get back in the fight.

Currently, it is the middle of the day and Porphyrius is out behind the Belladonna household, working on his semblance again. After some talking with Ghira, he managed to get help from the Menagerie security force here in securing large rocks in the backyard for his training, even if it did confuse them a bit. Porphyrius has a few rocks half his size laid out around him. He closes his eye and activates his semblance, focusing on the one in front of him. The boulder starts to float above the ground before he slowly rise it a little higher. Deciding to spread it out, Porphyrius focuses on a few more boulders, causing the first one to lower a bit due to a drop in focus on it. Three more rocks of the same size float next to the first, and Porphyrius keeps them in that position to see how long he can keep it up. After a few moments, he starts to sweat a bit and begins to feel the strain, so he deactivates his semblance and the rocks fall back onto the ground with several loud thumps. Porphyrius raises his right hand and stares at it.

 _"Bit by bit, I'm getting there. I guess I just gotta keep working at it. Suddenly bursts of gravity aren't as much of an issue for me now. It's keeping the semblance going for extended period of time that still needs work, along with a few other things. Oh well, no one is born at the pinnacle of strength,"_ Porphyrius thinks.

"Still hard at it, I see," he hears behind him and looks to see Blake walking towards him. "Do you really need to train so much?" she asks.

"Unlike SOME people, I haven't given up on the fight, nor on being a huntsman. I wouldn't expect a selfish coward to understand," Porphyrius insults her.

Blake then gets angry for a moment, but then that anger turns to guilt, "They're…safer if they're nowhere near me," she says, holding her arms together and looking away.

Porphyrius glares at her, "That's not for you to decide," he says and then walks away, intentionally bumping his shoulder against her as he does.

Porphyrius goes back inside, but as he's returning to his room, Ghira comes out from around the corner and stands in his way.

"Can I help you with something?" Porphyrius asks.

"Look, I don't know exactly what happened between you and Blake, but that is no excuse for the way you've been treating her lately. I allowed you to stay in my home as my guest, and because you told us that you are here to watch over and protect Blake, which I am thankful for, but as her father, I will not allow you to treat her with so much disrespect," Ghira explains.

Porphyrius grunts, "She never did anything to me. Even if she did, I wouldn't really give a damn and get over it soon enough. It's not that she hurt me, it's that she hurt her teammates, especially one in particular. If you're expecting me to give her warm hugs and words of encouragement, then you're in the wrong place. I'm here to keep an eye on her and that's it. We may have been friends once…but that has changed," Porphyrius retorts.

Ghira starts to growl a bit, and Porphyrius starts to emit purple flames from his eyepatch, however…

"Alright, that's enough you two. No need to act like children and make a mess of the place," they both hear and look over to see Kali walking over, carrying a small tray with a pair of tea cups on it, steam still rising from the rim of the cups. "Today is a nice day, and I'd really rather not spend most of it cleaning up the mess you two will undoubtedly make should you start fighting each other. Here, have some tea," Kali offers them. The two men glance at each other before they both accept the tea while grunting and looking away from one another, while Kali just smiles. "Now then, I believe you have some paperwork to take care of, Ghira. I suggest you get to it," Kali suggests.

"Um, right," Ghira says and leaves.

Porphyrius goes his own way back to his room while Kali just watches them leave and then sighs. Keeping those two from killing each other is harder than some think.

…

Later that night, Blake is standing on a second story deck outside her father's study. She stares at her father's door, beside which hangs an empty birdcage. But then…

"You know, you could always go in and say hi," her mother, Kali, says, startling Blake, as she walks over to her while carrying a tray with a tea set on it.

"I don't wanna bother him," Blake says, rubbing her right arm.

"A father's never too busy for his daughter," Kali replies.

"Not ALL of my friends would agree with you on that," Blake retorts, most likely thinking about Weiss.

Kali kisses Blake on the cheek and hands her the tray. Blake accepts it, but is a bit taken aback by being handed it.

"Here," Kali says and turns to leave.

"WHAT? Where are you going?" Blake asks, losing some of her cool.

"YOU'VE never been very talkative, but that boy you brought home loves to run his mouth. And I definitely have had some interesting conversations with that other boy, Porphyrius. I don't think he's a bad kid," Kali says.

"He wants me dead," Blake says, looking away.

"And yet, you're still here," Kali calmly retorts, making Blake face her. "If he truly wanted you dead, then I think he would've succeeded before you even got here. He told me that his leader, Khazhak Rairyu, ordered him not to. May I ask, what was this Khazhak like back at Beacon?" Kali asks.

Blake sighs, "Khazhak was…impressive. He was practically the strongest student in school, especially among the first years. He always did what he felt was right, and he never let anyone force him to do something he didn't want to do. He was harsh sometimes, but he was always honest, and had no problem calling things like he saw them. He would push us hard, but only because he wanted us to become stronger, and he was always there for his friends. To be honest, I think he liked my leader, Ruby, who I know liked him as well. Like Porphyrius, he had a rough childhood, losing his whole family, but what amazes me is how he kept going, never giving up. Sometimes, I envy his strength," Blake says.

Kali shows a soft smile, "Well, with a leader like that, no wonder Porphyrius is so loyal to him. I think it's nice that you have good friends by your side," Kali says.

"Friends, right…" Blake mutters.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to hear more about the adventures of Team RWBY and Team KEPL," Kali says as she leaves. Walking back inside the house, Kali finds Porphyrius in the dining room they were in a while back, drinking tea.

"Gave Ghira his tea already?" Porphyrius asks.

"Actually, I gave it to Blake to give to him. The two of them need some father-daughter time right now," Kali says before she sits down across from Porphyrius and sips her own tea. "It's been…a long time since they've really had a chance to talk to one another," she says, looking less cheery.

Porphyrius picks up on this, "Not that it's any of my business, but did something happen to you guys? She did say that she hadn't talked to you guys in a long time," Porphyrius asks.

Kali sighs, "It happened a long time ago, back when Ghira was still the leader of the White Fang. Back then, it was still a peaceful organization. However, when Ghira stepped down to become Chieftain of Menagerie, I left with him, but…" Kali trails off.

"Blake didn't," Porphyrius finishes for her.

"Yes. Blake was angry at us for leaving. She yelled at us and shouted at us, even called us cowards. She wanted to stay and fight for the White Fang. Of course, as I'm sure you know, she didn't stay for too long," Kali replies.

Porphyrius thinks for a moment, "…Were you guys…angry with her for acting like that?" he asks.

Kali shakes her head, "No, of course not. Ghira and I will always love our daughter. We were never angry with her, and we were never worried that she would fail. The only thing we were afraid of was that she would one day walk down the wrong path. So you can understand how happy and proud we are to see that she hasn't," Kali says.

"And yet, in a way, she has. I've said this before and I'll say it again, your daughter has a really bad habit of running away when things get tough, of giving in to fear and running from those that care about her. Now I won't fault her for leaving the White Fang. That was the right choice to make. However, when her teammates found out she was a Faunus, she ran. When Beacon fell and her friends got hurt, she RAN. She has no idea what that does to her teammates. It's her fault what happened to Yang, and I won't forgive her for that, as I've told you before. She made a promise to her teammates that she would tell them when something was bothering her. That she wouldn't keep secrets from them. And yet, there were times back at Beacon when we were investigating the White Fang that Blake would worry about it and try to handle the situation by herself rather than let her friends help her out. It was only after some harsh words from both Yang and Lloyd that she finally got her head out of her ass. But still, no matter how many times Khazhak tried to give her useful advice, she just wouldn't listen. And look where that got her," Porphyrius explains.

Despite all that, Kali remains as calm as ever, "And yet, she has faced her past time and time again. Beacon, Vale, coming back to her teammates and learning to trust them. She's faced her past and her own personal flaws more than once. Not many people have that kind of strength. She pulled herself out of the darkness that has overtaken the White Fang now," she notes.

"And yet, she has yet to fully conquer her fear. That has always been her greatest weakness. One she has yet to overcome, if she ever will," Porphyrius remains skeptical.

"Only time will tell," Kali says, remaining confident in her daughter. But then, she looks behind her. "Though I'm going to check on them. Besides, I haven't seen Mr. Wukong in a while. I wonder where he went off to," she wonders as she stands up.

"If your husband has killed him yet, I'm sure he's doing something stupid. I'll help look," Porphyrius says as he stands up.

The two then leave to look for the monkey Faunus, and decide to go check at Ghira's study first, with Kali walking ahead with Porphyrius trailing behind her. However, as she's walking, Kali hears some noise out on the balcony and goes to check on it. Kali comes from around the corner from inside the house after hearing the commotion.

"What's happened?" Kali asks, seeing only Sun on the balcony under the night sky.

"The White Fang is evil, I totally called it, and I'm bringing your daughter back!" Sun tells her as he backs up to where Blake used to be before he jumps off the second story deck.

Kali's mouth drops open for a moment before she feels a hand on her left shoulder and looks to see it is Porphyrius.

"I'll look out for them," he says and runs to leap into the trees as well.

Kali can only watch on as she brings up a hand to her chest, worried.

…

Porphyrius jumps from tree to tree throughout the forest, trying to catch up to Sun and Blake, and find out what's got them so spooked. Using his semblance, he pushes off of each tree with a gravity-enhanced jump, giving him the speed he needs to catch up to them. He sees Sun and Blake and it looks like they're chasing someone. The mysterious figure appears to be a female Faunus with thin, curved horns on her head, and black spotty skin, wearing a black, sleeveless stealth suit with a gold zipper and slightly lighter black straps with gold buckles on it. She seems to have her hair up in a long ponytail, but apart from that he can't pick out any more features from this individual.

Finally he lands on a tree next to Blake, "What's going on?!" he yells.

"This person's been spying on us. We're trying to catch her!" Blake says back while pointing at the mystery person.

Porphyrius narrows his eye at the person and decides to help them out. He jumps at the spy, but she jumps over him. However, he lands on another tree and pushes off of it with his semblance, launching him at the spy. The spy seems to get spooked, but just narrowly avoids his charge and jumps to another tree while Porphyrius flies through the trees into the darkness. Blake and the spy both stop on two trees, with the spy looking back at Blake. Hearing a noise above her, the spy looks up and gasps when she sees Sun dropping down on her.

"Gotcha!" he says. The spy leaps out of his path, making Sun land on a tree branch, while Blake continues her pursuit. "Hey, wait up!" he yells.

"Don't let her out of your sight!" she replies before jumping up into another tree.

The spy emerges from the trees and onto a rooftop as she continues to run across buildings. Blake appears right behind her as she chases her. Sliding under some arching pipes, the spy turns and stops, the black on her skin fading away like camouflage. She grabs her weapon on her back waist, turning it into a whip, she slices the pip, releasing steam to block Blake, but it doesn't work as Blake moves right under the pipes and through the steam.

"Why are you watching me?" Blake asks.

The spy just smiles as she lowers her weapon, but then Sun appears and lands behind her, making her turn around.

"Give it up! I'm not above hitting a girl, you-," he begins, but then the spy's whip comes at him, forcing him to fall back to avoid it.

Blake takes advantage of the distraction and kicks a scroll out of the spy's hand. The girl, surprised, avoids a punch and a knee from Blake before kicking her back and then tries to go for the scroll. However, Sun tackles her to the ground.

"Grab the scroll! Seems SOMEONE thinks it's important!" he says as he holds the spy down.

"Get off!" she says as she head-butts Sun, cracking off part of her mask covering her left eye, and tries to race Blake to the scroll.

Instead, first one and then a total of four of Sun's clones tackle her, holding her down. Blake looks to see Sun holding his pose as he tries to control all the clones.

"Quit staring and grab it!' he yells at her.

Blake runs for the scroll, and Sun finally releases his semblance, losing his strength as he falls onto his knees. The clones disappear and the spy rises up to aim her weapon at Blake.

"Blake, watch out!" Sun warns her.

Blake turns around with the scroll in her hand, but then the spy's broken Grimm mask crumbles apart, revealing her face which has pink eyes and freckles on her cheeks.

"…Ilia," Blake says, recognizing the girl as she narrows her eyes.

Sun gets to his feet, "Wait, you know her?! But she doesn't even look like a F- aagh!" Sun says until Ilia, changing her skin color to red and hair color to yellow, attacks Sun with an electric hit near his shoulder, making him cry out and fall to the ground.

"Sun!" Blake yells.

Ilia aims her weapon at Blake, "Give it to me," she demands.

"NO," Blake refuses.

"I said-," Ilia begins before a shot rings out, knocking her weapon aside.

They both look to see Porphyrius land in between them, aiming his left rifle at Ilia.

"How about you give up? Believe me, I hold no qualms about killing one of you White Fang bastards for what you back at Beacon," he threatens her.

Ilia then changes color again, her skin turning green and her hair turning purple.

"You shouldn't have come back," Ilia says, but then Porphyrius suddenly kicks her off the rooftop and gives chase.

"Porphyrius, wait-," Blake begins, but then turns her attention back to Sun when he starts groaning in pain. "Sun! SUN!" Blake yells as she gets down next to him, with Blake covering the bleeding wound from Ilia's attack with her hands. "No, no, no, not again, please!" she cries. Blake looks back at Sun, "Hold on, Sun, just hold on," she says.

Meanwhile, back on the ground, Ilia jumps back when Porphyrius slashes his blades at her. She swings her whip at him, but Porphyrius rolls under the strike and fires off a few shots at her. Ilia swings her whip around to deflect the shots, but can't react in time when Porphyrius moves in close and, with his weapons in their brawler mode (their second mode's name, it fits), throws a hard gravity-enhanced right cross to her stomach, sending her crashing into some wooden crates behind her.

"Give up, you've got no chance of beating me. You White Fang murderers say you're fighting for the Faunus. But you even attacked Faunus students and civilians back in Vale during of Fall of Beacon. You guys are just hypocritical killers that have allowed your anger to cloud your judgement. You give other Faunus around a bad name," Porphyrius says.

Ilia gets out of the mess she got punched in, and then growls at him, "Like a human like you would ever understand. We're doing what's best for the Faunus. It's high time the humans pay for what they've done to us," Ilia says.

Porphyrius gets ready to slaughter her, but then their attention changes when a pair of Faunus walk out of one of the homes to check on the commotion. Ilia uses this chance and swings her whip at one of the support beams next to them, taking it out and causing the section of the roof above them to collapse. Thinking fast, Porphyrius moves in and switches his weapons to their blade mode and slices the roof to pieces to save them.

"You guys okay?" he asks, them, and they nod to him. Porphyrius turns back to face Ilia again, but she has already disappeared. "Damn," he mutters before deciding to go help Blake with Sun.

Next time he sees Ilia though, Porphyrius won't let her escape alive.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. The next chapter will go back to Yang, Lloyd, Reaper, and Weiss. Porphyrius and Blake encounter Blake's old friend Ilia, only now things have changed for the former friends. Who knows what'll happen the next time Porphyrius sees her. Will Sun be alright? Will Ilia survive her next encounter with Porphyrius? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	66. Chapter 61: Tough Training

**Here we are at Chapter 61. First, to answer a question of one reader, no, Porphyrius' mother was NOT a handmaid for the Schnee Family. She didn't work for them before she died. Now then, time to see how Weiss and Yang are doing with their training with Reaper and Lloyd. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 61. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 61: Tough Training**

… _In Patch, in front of Ruby and Yang's home…_

Yang comes up as she deflects a punch from Lloyd and then a second before countering with a spin kick aimed at his head. Lloyd leans back to avoid it and then throws a hard right punch, which Yang blocks, making her slide against the ground. Taiyang watches from the sidelines, arms crossed, and with Zwei at his side as the sparring continues. Lloyd performs a roundhouse kick that Yang blocks with her arms crossed above her head. She pushes him off and throws a haymaker with her right prosthetic arm, but he blocks the punch with his arms crossed, though he does slide back a bit.

Lloyd cracks his right shoulder, "Well, that new arm of yours packs a bit of a punch at least. Though, not enough to take me down," he notes.

"We've been at this for weeks. I know you're just trying to help me get back into fighting shape," Yang says and then smashes her fists together like she used to do. "I think I'm doing just fine," she says, showing that she's regained some of her former confidence.

"Not from where I'm standing," Lloyd mutters.

"You're close," Taiyang says as he starts walking from his spot and walks around the two, assessing Yang's progress. "You still have some work to do, though," he says.

"Oh, really?" Yang says, left hand on her hip.

"You're still off balance," Taiyang replies.

"What?! No I'm not!" she retorts, making him chuckle.

"You sure about that?" Lloyd asks as he starts walking around Yang as well.

"Honestly, I'm kind of surprised," she says as she lifts up her new right arm, looking at it with a smile. "I thought it would be just this huge weight, but it feels…natural. They did a great job with this thing," she says.

Suddenly, Lloyd comes out of nowhere with a punch to Yang's skull, staggering her a bit. Yang grits her teeth and gets back into her fighting stance. She runs at Lloyd and spins around to deliver a spinning hook kick, which he block. Yang moves her leg around to kick at his left side, but Lloyd grabs the leg and flings his arm up, tossing Yang into the air. Yang lands on her feet and runs back at Lloyd. The two exchange a few punches, but then Lloyd makes a swift left uppercut, forcing Yang to lean back to evade it, only for Lloyd to backhand her face with the same arm. Stumbling a bit, Yang barely reacts in time to block a left cross from Lloyd, followed by Lloyd grabbing her left arm. He then twists it around, and then kicks the back of her left knee, forcing her down onto one knee. Lloyd then finishes it off by swinging his left leg at Yang's right, sending her spinning into the air and landing hard on the ground on her back.

"He wasn't talking about your actual balance…Though that could use some work as well," Lloyd notes before wiping a little dust off his left shoulder.

Lloyd then walks over to Taiyang, who hands him a towel, and wipes his face before petting Zwei a little bit.

With her arms spread out, Yang takes a deep breath on the ground.

"Meaning?" she asks, looking a little irritated.

"I saw your tournament fights. During the Vytal Festival," Taiyang says.

Yang turns her head away, "Let me guess. I was SLOPPY," she says mockingly.

"No, no, you were PREDICTABLE. And…stubborn. And…maybe a little boneheaded," Taiyang corrects her.

"Not to mention in need of anger management. Or have you forgotten how your opponent in the doubles round danced around you through most of the match because you let her get inside your head?" Lloyd adds, crossing his arms.

Yang sits up crossed-legged and looks at them.

Taiyang gets more serious, "Do you realize that you used your semblance to win EVERY fight after the qualifiers?" he asks.

"So what? How is me using my semblance any different than someone using theirs?" Yang ask as she spins around to have her back to them.

Taiyang starts walking towards Yang, "Because not everyone else's is basically a temper tantrum," he says, making Lloyd chuckle. Taiyang then laughs and crouches next to Yang, "Haha. I'm serious! Once you take damage, you can dish it out twice as hard, but that doesn't make you invincible! It's great when you're in a bind, but what happens if you miss? What happens if they're stronger? Now you're just weak and tired!" he says, making Yang look down with a frown. "You've always been one to burn brighter than everyone else, whether it was with your smile, or, well, I remember your first haircut," he says, and playfully tugs her hair. Smiling, Yang bats him away. Taiyang chuckles and stands up, walking away a few paces with Zwei right behind him. "But you gotta keep your emotions in check. Keep a level head, and think before you act. Your semblance is a great fallback, but you can't let yourself rely on it. It won't always save you. Obviously," he says, his tone becoming sadder as he lowers his head. "You definitely have your mom's stubbornness," he says, making Yang and Lloyd glance at him as Taiyang faces one of the trees.

" _Brother's master…"_ Lloyd mentally notes.

"Oh, so now we can talk about her?" she asks.

"Well, as I have been informed, you're an adult now, remember?" he says, placing a hand on the tree.

Yang looks away, "Well, sorry I remind you of her," she says.

"Don't be," he replies, making Yang look at him. "Raven was great in so many ways – her strength, her ambition, her dedication to whatever cause she thought was worth fighting for," he praises Raven and then turns around to face Yang. "I'm proud of how much of her I see in you," he says as Yang looks down. "But, I'm glad I don't see ALL of her in you," he says, making Yang look back at him.

"Why?" she asks, confused.

Taiyang sighs, "You're mother was…a complicate woman. Like everybody, she had her faults, but those faults are what tore our team apart. And, it did a real number on our family," he says.

"I've only met Raven a few times, but Brother knows her far better than I do. I can tell you from the few times I have seen her…that I don't like her," Lloyd notes.

"Yeah…I'm still having a hard time swallowing that. Telling me that Raven knows your team leader like you did a while back. Even more so that they're master and apprentice. I couldn't really guess on why Raven would take an interest in him like that, but I know that Raven values strength greatly, so I believe she must see some potential strength in him and that's why. Speaking of which," Taiyang says before he turns back to Yang. "You and your mother share the same issue. You both act like the easiest way to tackle an obstacle is through it," he says, pointing at Zwei who sits in front of him. "That strength is all that matters in a fight. But if you just take a second look, then maybe you see…There's a way around as well," he says as he walks around Zwei, toward Yang. "…Come on – one more before dinner. This time, I'll spar with you a bit," he says, extending a hand to her.

Yang takes his hand and he helps her up. They circle each other, arms at the ready. Taiyang makes the first move with a left hook, and then a right cross followed by a kick. Yang blocks the punches and ducks under the kick even as Taiyang flips into the air. Yang cartwheels out of the way and lands, facing him. Taiyang throws another punch and kick, but Yang blocks the punch, and evades the kick, rolling away on the ground before she turns and runs at him. Taiyang rushes her, and they collide in the center, each with their left hand blocking the other's right elbow, pushing against each other.

"Heh. See? Alright! Now you're using your head instead of your-," he says, but Yang smirks before kicking his leg out from underneath him.

However, she catches him as he falls back. They remain in this position, grasping hands and smiling at each other. However…

"My turn," they hear behind them. Suddenly, Lloyd appears and does palm strike on Yang's back, sending her tumbling onto the ground while Taiyang falls on his back. Yang gets up and grits her teeth at Lloyd. "Now that we're done with the warmup, let's get the real training underway," he says and crosses his arms again.

Yang takes a stance and then runs at him, throwing a right hook to start off. Lloyd easily leans his head back to avoid it, and then leans left as Yang throws a left cross. Yang throws three more punches, but Lloyd easily evades all of them with minimal movement, keeping his arms crossed. Yang then throws a roundhouse kick, but Lloyd leans back to dodge it and then comes back and head-butts Yang in the face, knocking her to the ground.

"If you can't lay single punch on my skin, then you have no chance of surviving out in the real world. I know Brother would say the same thing. After all, he's with Ruby. Unlike you, she never gave up," Lloyd taunts her, disdain in his voice. Yang grunts and goes again, throwing a jump kick at him, but he sidesteps out of the way. She then performs a spin kick, but he ducks under it, and then she throws a left hook, but he avoids it with little effort. "Maybe Ruby was the only one that learned something at Beacon. At least she learned about what's important," he taunts Yang again as she throws a right hook followed by another spin kick, both of which he dodges. "She never gave up on you. YOU gave up on her, on everything, and on yourself!" he yells as he steps back to avoid two more punches from Yang. "In the end, it seems she was the only one who truly wanted to become a huntress. You were just riding her cloak tails," he says.

Yang growls at him, and begins to attack again, but then stops as realization hits her.

 _"He's trying to rile me up, to make me lose it like I did last time, and he's using Ruby to do it,"_ she thinks and drops her hands, lowering her head. "…You're right," she admits.

"Yang," Taiyang mutters.

"I did give up. I was just so focused on myself that I didn't care about anything else. Ruby was just trying to help because she was worried about me, about everyone, but I didn't care. I pushed her away. I HURT her. I never once thought about what she went through at the Fall of Beacon," Yang says as tears begin to form in her eyes. "She watched as two of her closest friends died right in front of her, and then learned that Team RWBY was disbanded. And I only made it worse. Yes, bad things do happen sometimes, but I forgot about something important. Something she remembered. It's about how you react to those bad things, what you do after they happen. Ruby left because she wanted to fix this, because she still believed in helping people and being a huntress. I just…gave up. I was the worst sister imaginable, and I'm…sorry. I'm so sorry, Ruby," she starts crying as she falls onto her hands and knees on the ground.

Lloyd walks up to her and she looks up only to see him offer her a hand, smiling the whole time.

"Lesson for today: being able to admit one's mistakes and weaknesses, and learning to overcome them. Well done, Yang," he says. Yang wipes away her tears and takes his hand as he pulls her up. "Now then, that's enough for today. Now that you know what makes you weak, you can work on fixing that," he says,

Yang smiles before she suddenly throws a right hook at his face. The punch connects, but Yang drops her smile when she sees that Lloyd's steel semblance blocked the attack while only covering his cheek.

However, he just smiles back, "Better. Much better," he says, and they both smile at each other.

… _Back in Atlas, in Weiss' room…_

"Now then, let's try this again," Reaper says, standing in a corner of Weiss' room. In the make shift practice area of her room, Weiss holds her rapier at the ready. She steps back, twirls, a stream of blue-white light coming from the tip of her sword, and when she ends the twirl, she holds it aloft before striking the tip at the floor. "Concentrate. Feel your summoning take life. Imagine it, not as a construct, a weapon, or a thing. Imagine it as another living being, an extension of your will," he says.

As he says this, a summoning glyph appears, with the Arma Gigas sword slowly but surely beginning to emerge. Weiss' eyes close as she concentrates, the power of her summoning causing a small wind to blow the hair around her face. At that moment, Reaper steps back behind her room's door in the shadow of it before it suddenly opens.

"Hello, sister," Whitley says, smiling, as he leans against the door, not noticing Reaper standing behind it.

Weiss gets annoyed at his presence and the sword shatters and disappears along with the glyph as it fades away.

"Ugh, leave," she tells him.

"How hurtful. And here I am, about to offer you a favor. Father's taking me to town to introduce me to some of his business partners. I'd thought I'd see if you wanted me to pick up anything, since you're…well, stuck here," he says as Weiss stands up.

"…Are you jealous? Is that it?" she asks, looking unamused.

"Whatever do you mean?" he asks, trying to play it off.

"Is that why you hate me? Are you jealous of my abilities? Of Winter's?" she asks.

Whitley steps away from the door frame, "Hmm…no, not really. Honestly, I find it barbaric. It's beneath people like me. Like Father. What can a single huntsman possibly do that an army cannot? That's why we have one, even if it is run by a fool," Whitley replies.

"I said, leave," Weiss calmly demands.

"Fine, fine. I've got better things to do," he says as he turns to leave. "Enjoy your…training, however pointless it is," he says, but then stops and turns to face her, hand on the door frame. "What is your plan, anyway? What do you hope to accomplish while trapped in your own bedroom?" he asks.

However, Reaper then kicks the door, slamming it in Whitley's face. Weiss lowers her sword and sighs. Reaper waits a moment, listening in to ensure Whitley had left before walking up to Weiss.

"I really don't like him. It's hard to believe you're actually related," he says, making Weiss smile. "Now then, let us continue," Reaper says and creates a small skull phantom in the palm of his left hand. "Your summoning is very similar to my skull phantoms. They're a being of sorts that I can create at will and use in different ways. Recently, I've mastered the ability to change their size, make them more physically solid and stable, and there's still more I can learn about them. Your summoning allows you to resurrect dead enemies as your warriors. However, how you feel about those summons can affect the process as well. Grimm are our enemies, but while these summons look like them, they are not them. Think with that in mind, and think of them as your allies in battle. Keeping your mind calm will help ease the process. Let your power flow, the more you force it, the less it will succeed. Embrace them as a part of you and imagine them by your side," Reaper explains before he has his skull phantom dissipate. Weiss resumes her summoning position. The glyph appears and this time, Weiss looks at the portrait of the Arma Gigas on the wall in front of her. "That's it, picture it. Know exactly how you want your summoning to appear," Reaper says.

Weiss repeats the same twirl and stabs the floor again, making the glyph glow brighter and spin faster. The books shake in the bookcase on the wall, with one falling onto the floor and opens up. The wind blows again before suddenly, her room window bursts outward as the room is consumed in a bright white light. As the light abates, Weiss lowers her arm that was covering her eyes.

"Miss Schnee! Are you alright?!" Klein says urgently as he pushes the door open after hearing the commotion.

Klein's eyes widen as he leans back, looking amazed. Weiss smile at him before turning to face the Arma Gigas that she successfully summoned standing in front of her.

"Yes," she replies as the Arma Gigas gets down on one knee and bows to her.

"Well done, Weiss. You have finally mastered your summoning. More importantly, I can see that you have regained what you previously lost. Your freedom," Reaper praises her as he steps forth.

At seeing him, Klein gets suspicious, "Miss Schnee, who is this? Stay back!" he says.

Weiss walks up to him and calms him down, "It's okay Klein. He's a friend. Klein, allow me to introduce to you Edom Soul Reaper. He was a student at Beacon like me and one of my closest friends. He's been helping me to master my summoning. It's okay. I trust him," she says.

Reaper bows to him, "It is a pleasure to finally meet someone in this place that truly cares about Weiss and her well-being. Nice to meet you, Mr. Klein," he greets him.

At this, Klein calms down, "I see. Well…A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Reaper. It's nice to know that Miss Schnee had some friends nearby, even here," he replies.

Weiss then looks out the broken window, "Klein, I need a favor," she asks him.

Klein then nods determinedly.

Reaper nods, "Yes, the time has come to leave this prison," Reaper says. _"And to reunite you with your teammates. Hang in there Khazhak. I'll be there soon."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Lloyd and Reaper help train Yang and Weiss into becoming better huntresses, and better persons. Yang is regaining her fire, and Weiss is regaining her freedom. Now, we'll be going back to Khazhak and Ruby in the next chapter. What awaits our heroes in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	67. Chapter 62: Kuroyuri

**Here we are at Chapter 62. Let's get back to Ruby and Khazhak, and a few others as well. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 62. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 62: Kuroyuri**

… _In Salem's domain…_

Four arching slashes of fire are seen as Cinder Fall kills another Grimm, panting as she trains to control her Maiden powers. See is in a large empty room, with a darkened arched hallway behind her, with several candles positioned around the edges of the room. Four Beowolves slowly approach her, and she attacks by swinging her left arm, creating another arching fire slash that cuts through all four of them. Cinder pants again, but then hears heavy footsteps coming from her left. She gasps and looks up as a Beringel jumps into the air, preparing to attack her. Cinder counters by pulling back her right hand and pushing forward, sending a ball of flames at it, killing it. As its body disintegrates, Cinder falls onto her knees, breathing heavily.

"Enough," Salem says as she approaches her from behind. "I thought you were the girl who wanted power. Did you lie to me?" Salem asks harshly. Cinder winces from the question before she looks up at her and shakes her head. "Then stop holding back. If you wish to master your new powers, you must-," she begins until the sound of heavy doors opening from the hallway stop her.

They both look back as a sobbing Tyrian slowly walks into the room, falling onto his hands and knees as he bows his head.

"I'm sorry," he says softly before raising a hand to his chin. "She'll forgive me. Pleeease," he whines as he bows his head again. "Forgive me," he says.

"Tyrian!" Salem says, making him wince as she walks to stand in front of him and he looks up. "Your task – were you successful?" she asks, holding out her right arm.

"…N-no," Tyrian says as he bows his head again. Cinder's eyes widen as Salem looks surprised before narrowing her eyes and walking away, while Cinder watches her. Tyrian raise his head, "But-but hope is not lost! My tail, my stinger…I-I poisoned him, Qrow! He will not be a nuisance to you any longer, no…no longer! I've done that, and I can tell you that the boy wiyh the Dragon Spirit's powers are growing, but he has not yet fully awakened them. It seems to cause him intense pain when he uses it. We can use that…Have I done well? Have I pleased you?" he begs as he faces her.

"The last eye is blinded…" Salem notes and glances back at him. "You disappoint me," she says and leaves.

Hearing this, Tyrian falls forward, wailing. A Beowolf approaches, attracted to Tyrian's negative emotions while ignoring Cinder. It leaps at Tyrian, but he screams as he knocks it away with a single blow from his tail. Tyrian activates his pincer blades and jumps on top of the Beowolf. Tyrian proceeds to stab and slash it repeatedly, tears rolling down his face. His wails turn into maniacal laughter as he takes his frustration out by butchering the Grimm, all while Cinder watches, horrified. Meanwhile, Salem has a Seer Grimm approach her.

"Khazhak Rairyu has begun to awaken his power. He must not be allowed to master it. Get in touch with our associate in Vacuo. Tell him to return to me as soon as his mission there is complete. I must speak with him," Salem says and walks away while the Seer Grimm floats off to perform its task.

… _Meanwhile, in Anima…_

Ruby's group carries her uncle Qrow on a makeshift stretcher through a dreary looking forest or swamp of sorts, with Ruby and Jaune carrying the stretcher. Ren walks in front of them, Nora at the rear, and Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk at their sides, all with their weapons out for defense. However, Khazhak is holding his abdomen with his left hand, seemingly forcing himself to keep up with them.

"Just hold on, Uncle Qrow," Ruby says while breathing heavily. "Khazhak, how are you holding up?" she asks.

Khazhak grunts in slight pain, "I've been better. I still haven't fully recovered from using the Dragon Spirit yesterday. I haven't regained my full strength yet," he groan.

"Just try and hold out, brother. We'll stop and rest soon," Voshkie'ahk says.

" **You'll have to deal with this on your own. I cannot reduce the pain, nor heal you. I do not possess that power,"** Bahamut notes.

" **You never were much of the supportive type in these situations, huh brother,"** Tiamat notes.

As they walk, Qrow groans in pain and starts muttering with a sense of deliriousness.

"Tai. She's not…coming…*grunts in pain* Tai," Qrow mutters before he starts coughing again.

"Be strong, Master," Voshkie'ahk says, worried about him.

"He's getting worse," Jaune notes.

"How much farther?" Ruby asks Ren.

"We've gotta be close," Nora says.

"We better. Unless we find a doctor or some medicine soon…" Khazhak trails off.

"Without the map, there's no way of knowing. But I feel like we're close to something," Ren says before he stops and holsters his guns.

"What is it?" Ruby asks.

Ren sees that up ahead is a fork in the road with a signpost. He runs up to it, seeing one sign point behind them to Higanbana. Two more signs pointing to the right show Mistral and Kuchinashi, the direction going into a mountainous region. To the left is Kuroyuri, the name crossed out, with that direction on low ground. Ruby and Jaune lay Qrow down on the ground, and Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk kneel next to him, the former to rest himself, the latter to check on Qrow.

Nora holsters her weapon and walks up to him, "Hey, hey! Mistral! We're on the right path! Oh…" she says, but then loses her excitement when she sees that only the names are given.

"Does it say how close?!" Ruby asks.

"No. And it looks like the path takes us up through the mountains," Ren replies solemnly.

"Guys, I don't know if all of us can make that climb," Jaune notes.

Ruby looks at Qrow and Khazhak, concerned, before rushing forward to the signpost.

"Okay. Well, what about this place? Kuro…Kuroyuri? Can we get help there?" she asks as she points at the name.

Jaune helps Khazhak approach them while Voshkie'ahk remains by Qrow's side.

"That village was destroyed years ago," Ren replies.

"But it if takes us around the mountains, it's the best bet we've got," Jaune says.

"It will take too long," Ren says more sternly.

"The town would have had a doctor, right? Maybe we can scavenge for medicine!" Ruby reasons.

"Even if the village was destroyed, there's at least a slight chance there may be something there that we can use," Khazhak adds.

Ren lowers his head and closes his eyes, "We're not going to find anything! We just have to press on!" he exclaims, getting more emotional than usual.

Everyone goes silent at his outburst, with Ruby clutching her hands over her chest, and Khazhak standing protectively beside her.

Jaune steps in front of Ren, "Ren, why are you acting-," he begins.

"We can split up," Nora suggests as she stands beside Ren.

"Huh?" Ruby asks.

Nora puts her hand on Ren's shoulder, "Ren and I can cut through the mountains while you guys take Qrow around through the village," Nora says.

"No, we're supposed to stick together! We keep each other safe!" Jaune refuses the idea.

"We don't have time for safe! If we make it to Mistral, we'll bring back help! If we don't, at least we'll have a better view of the land! Up there, we can see if there's somewhere we can go!" Nora reasons.

Khazhak steps up, "She's right. Time is not on our side right now. If it's just the two of them, they can get there much faster than we can. They can go on ahead, and we can meet up with them halfway when they come back with help. I could make it, but I would slow them down, and Qrow is in no condition for that trek. It's our best shot," Khazhak adds.

Ren looks at Nora, and they exchange small, affectionate smiles, while Nora drops her hand from her shoulder. They all remain silent as they weigh their options, but then all turn back when they hear Qrow coughing again. Jaune looks at Ruby and Khazhak before turning to face Ren and Nora.

"Okay," he agrees. Jaune steps forward and he and Ren hug each other. "Just take care of each other," he pleads.

Nora smiles at Ren, "We always have," she says.

"I'll go with them," Voshkie'ahk says as she steps up.

"Are you sure? What about your brother and Qrow?" Jaune asks.

"This way we'll have three fighters in each group. We won't get much done without taking a little risk in this case. Just take care of Master Qrow for me. And Khazhak, you be careful too," Voshkie'ahk says, and Khazhak nods.

Ruby and Jaune lift up Qrow's stretcher, with Khazhak at their side, and prepare to take the path to Kuroyuri. They all turn to Ren, Voshkie'ahk, and Nora, who prepare to take the path to Mistral, and nod to them. Nora waves back, and Ren starts to turn before looking back at them one more time before him, Voshkie'ahk, and Nora run off down their path.

"They're gonna be fine, Jaune," Ruby says confidently, trying to comfort Jaune.

"You don't know that," Jaune replies before Khazhak slaps him on the head. "Ow!"

"Talk like won't help, so shut it, and keep moving," Khazhak says.

Ruby looks forward, her expression saddening as one of her steps leaves an imprint in the ground, which shortly gets overlapped by one of Jaune's. However…none of them notice the LARGE hoof-print in the ground as they pass by…just like the same hoof-print that Ren and Nora saw in Shion. After a few minutes of walking, Ruby's group reach the destroyed village and begin their trek through it. The village of Kuroyuri is much like the destroyed village of Shion, only this one has been ruined for years now. Heavily damaged buildings litter the area, with absolutely no sign of life anywhere. Ruby and Jaune walk down the road, carrying Qrow on a stretcher, while Khazhak remains on their left flank with his blade out. They all look around unhappily as they view the dead village.

"Oh man," Jaune says.

"This is what Death looks like," Khazhak notes.

"Come on," Ruby says and they continue down the road deeper into the village. "Any of these places look like a pharmacy?" Ruby asks.

"It's…hard to tell," Jaune replies.

"Ren really didn't want to come here, did he?" Ruby asks.

"Uh…didn't seem so," Jaune replies.

"Do you know…why?" Ruby asks as she glances at him.

Jaune sighs, "I think I have a pretty good idea…" he mutters sadly.

"…This was once Ren's home, wasn't it Jaune?" Khazhak asks, to which Jaune slowly nods, and they continue on their way.

As they move by, Khazhak notices a withered waterlily on the ground atop a miniscule puddle. After laying Arow against a dead tree in the center of the village, the three teens look around for any medical supplies. After a short while through, the three regroup with Jaune and Khazhak walking up to Ruby after searching through the ruins of the destroyed village, all looking dejected.

Jaune sighs, "Nothing," he says.

"Yeah, I couldn't find anything either. Whatever wasn't lost in the village's destruction, was lost to the ravages of time," Khazhak adds.

"We should get back to Qrow," Ruby says.

They walk up close to the center of the village, seeing Qrow leaning against the dead sakura tree, groaning as he holds his wound. Ruby crouches next to him, with Jaune and Khazhak standing over them. An unknown creature makes a loud noise from off in the distance, causing the four teenagers to turn. Jaune's hand immediately goes to his sword and looks around for the noise while the others remain calm.

"It's far off," Ruby says, trying to ease his worries.

"I know, but Ren and Nora are still out there," Jaune replies.

"Voshkie'ahk is with them. If I know one thing, it's that my sister is not to be underestimated," Khazhak notes.

" **Nor is my sister, Tiamat, to be underestimated,"** Bahamut adds.

"How are you holding up, Khazhak?" Ruby asks.

Khazhak is still holding his torso, "I'm still a little weak, but I'm in better condition than Qrow there. I'll be fine," he says.

Ruby looks at Qrow before standing and approaches Jaune and Khazhak.

"I'm sorry," Ruby apologizes, her head bowed a little bit.

"Huh?" Jaune says, turning to look at her, though she remains looking down.

"This is all my fault. I should have never dragged you guys into this," Ruby says.

"…You didn't drag us in. We wanted to come," Jaune assures her.

"But you didn't know about Tyrian, about-," Ruby begins.

"Ruby. We lost…We lost Pyrrha. You lost her, too. And Penny. And your team, and in a way…your sister. But you're still here, despite everything you've lost, everything you could still lose, you CHOSE to come out here," Jaune says, making Ruby turn to face him, becoming more emotional. "Because you felt like you could make a difference," he continues, making her look up at him. "You didn't drag us along. You gave us the courage to follow you," he says, placing a hand on her right shoulder, making her smile gratefully at him, which he returns.

"He's right," Khazhak says, making them look at him. "Ruby, you suffered more than any one of us at the Fall of Beacon. But yet, here you are, fighting for everything and everyone you care about. You learned, all on your own, the most important lesson that my father taught me. You learned…RESOLVE. The resolve to keep fighting, no matter what you may lose, no matter what you may sacrifice. You gained the strength to keep. Moving. Forward. That is why I swore my life to you, not because I had to, but because I CHOSE to. Because you continue to shine brightly through the darkness, never giving up," he says, placing his hand on her left shoulder. "And that is why I will always follow you anywhere, anytime."

"Thanks you guys," Ruby says, smiling at them, which they return.

… _Meanwhile, with Ren, Nora, and Voshkie'ahk…_

Wind whistles by in the high altitude as the present-day Ren walks on a stony ledge down the mountain path, looking at more of the mountain on his right with a cave just ahead.

"We never get the easy path, do we?" Ren asks Nora as she walks up beside him.

Nora rests her hands behind her head, "Easy's no fun anyway," she replies. Then she drops her hands and looks at him, "You okay?" she asks.

Ren looks at her and nods, "Mmm. And you?" he asks.

"I've got you here, don't I?" she replies, leaving Ren unable to figure out how to respond to that.

Voshkie'ahk moves up to join them, "Come on, the faster we can get to Mistral, the faster we can get help for Master Qrow and my brother," she says before walking ahead of them.

Nora the waves her hand to follow her, "Come on. There's more than one way up a mountain," she says while walking ahead of Ren to join Voshkie'ahk.

However, Voshkie'ahk stops and looks back to them, "One question though, Ren. That village that you were so adamant to stay out of…Did that used to be your old home?" she asks.

Ren and Nora stop, "…I'd rather not talk about it, Voshkie'ahk," Ren says.

Voshkie'ahk then pulls out a card and aims it at Ren, "Too bad. Master Qrow is poisoned, and my brother is in a weakened state. They are vulnerable, and I will not allow any unforeseen threats endanger them. So answer the question: was that your home village down there?" she asks.

Ren sighs, "Yes, that was my home village, a long time ago. Nora and I were just kids, and I was living with my parents. Nora was already an orphan at the time…" he begins solemnly, while Nora looks away in sadness. "One night, Grimm attacked our village, led by a very dangerous Grimm I had never seen before. It…it killed my parents, and destroyed the village. Nora and I were the only survivors. We started watching out for each other, and eventually developed our skills to become huntsmen. And that's how we came to Beacon. I'm sure you know the rest. That's why I didn't want to go the other way. I just…I just couldn't go through that place of death. Not again…" Ren says, clenching his fists.

Voshkie'ahk's expression softens and she lowers her card, "I'm sorry that happened to you. Believe me, I know what it's like to lose your home and your family all in one night. You already know my story. I'm sorry for bringing those memories up, it's just…I've already lost my parents, I don't want to lose Khazhak. He's the only family I have left," she says. _"The only one alive that I still consider family, even though there's also…No never mind about that. It's all in the past…"_

Ren nods, 'It's okay, I understand. If we're going to help him, then we'd better get moving," Ren says, and Voshkie'ahk nods in reply.

"Well, then let's get going," Nora says and runs ahead of them. A moment later though, she stops a short distance ahead of them. "Hey! There's wind blowing out of this cave!" Nora calls out, standing in front of the cave and pointing inside it. Ren and Voshkie'ahk catch up to her as leaves blow out of the cave. "Think it might lead to the peak?" she asks.

"I suppose there's only on way to find ou-ah!" Ren says, until a large piece of fabric flies into his face, cutting him off. Nora giggles, covering her mouth with her hands, as Ren frees himself. "Yes, yes. Very funny," he says.

Ren then looks down at the fabric, seeing a mark on it, and goes still. Nora lowers her hands and steps closer, seeing something's wrong.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Voshkei'ahk asks as she steps closer.

On the fabric is a flower-like emblem that he recognizes.

"This is the symbol for Shion Village," Ren says, remembering the village…they pasted WEEKS ago that was destroyed.

"Shion? But that's…that's the village where we found the huntsman. It's weeks away from here!" she realizes. Ren drops the fabric and runs into the cave. "Ren! Wait!" Nora calls out. Ren runs deeper into the cave before he comes to a stop at a chamber inside. Voshkie'ahk and Nora catch up to him and Nora raises a hand to her face, alarmed at what she sees. "Oh my gosh…" she says, horrified.

"By the gods," Voshkie'ahk mutters with wide eyes.

In the chamber in front of them, weapons litter the whole area, ranging from swords, axes, staffs, and the like, all either propped up in the ground or lying flat across it. Along with the weapons are black spots of an ooze-like substance. Ren moves in and picks up an arrow, inspecting it, while Nora stands behind him. Voshkie'ahk looks at all the other weapons littering the cave.

"So many…How many lives have been lost because of whatever lives here?" Voshkie'ahk mutters.

Nora looks ahead of Ren, and Ren turns to see…a large hoof-print on the floor, leading to a second opening out of the cave. The three walk to the second opening, seeing several trees shake as they walk outside.

Ren shakes his head, "No…" he says, full of worry.

Nora stands next to him and they see the shaking trees…getting closer to Kuroyuri village where the others are located. Nora takes his left hand, and he returns the grip.

"Oh no…it's heading straight for the others…" Voshkie'ahk mutters with worry.

Just then, whatever's shaking the trees lets out a monstrous, fear-inducing roar…

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Ruby and Khazhak's group separate, but perhaps that wasn't the wisest plan to make. We're almost done with volume 4 in the story. Only a few chapters left. Will Ruby's group be ready for their next challenge with a poisoned Qrow, and a vulnerable Khazhak? What awaits Khazhak and his comrades in the future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	68. Chapter 63: Reveal the Plan

**Here we are at Chapter 63. Since we've seen Ruby and Khazhak, it's back to the others. A few more chapters, and then it's on to volume 5. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 63. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 63: Reveal the plan**

… _In Patch…_

Outside her home, Yang Xiao Long spray paints her prosthetic arm and half of her Ember Celica bright yellow, with some black. A moment later, with her arm back on, she goes into the tool shed behind the house and pulls off a tarp covering her motorcycle, Bumblebee.

"I don't remember saying you were ready," she hears her father say behind her, leaning against the open door frame, arms crossed.

Yang doesn't look back at him, "Oh yeah? You're gonna try and stop me?" she asks, smiling.

Taiyang chuckles, "No. I think I'm still too sore after our last fight," he says, holding his left shoulder. "I just want a better goodbye than a letter. And I also have a question for you," he says, and Yang turns around. "Where are you going?" he asks.

"What do you mean?" she asks.

Taiyang moves into the shed, "Well, despite asking him numerous time not to, I know that Qrow told you where your mother's been at these days. I know how much you wanna see her. I've stopped you in the past, but I won't anymore…And we've both read the note. We know your sister's headed to Mistral. So, WHERE are you going?" he asks, as Yang looks slightly to the side, glancing at Bumblebee.

"Wherever she's going, it won't be alone," they hear and look back to see Lloyd standing at the opening to the shed.

"Lloyd?" Yang asks.

"Yang, I told you that Brother told me to watch over you, and to help you get back in the fight…But that wasn't my main mission here," he says as he walks inside.

"What do you mean? What is your mission then?" she asks.

Lloyd sighs, "My mission, the one that Brother gave to me…is to reunite you with Ruby," he says.

"What? Ruby? But why?" she asks, confused.

"You're sister is stronger than anyone of us realized. But even more so, she is important, not just to Khazhak, but to others as well. If she goes after the people responsible for the Fall of Beacon, then she may become a target to those responsible for that dark event. Khazhak believes that Ruby may very well be Remnant's last hope against the Grimm. That is why Brother sent our team to watch over yours. He believes that dark trials await Ruby in the future, trials that neither he nor I nor any of our other friends can help her in. If she faces these trials alone, she will die, and if she dies, all of Remnant dies with her. However, he believes that only three people CAN help her in those trials. YOU. You, Weiss, and Blake – her teammates. You guys, Team RWBY, may be our last hope, and so Brother sent us to help you – to help you get back on your feet, get back in the fight, and finally…To reunite you all in Mistral. That is Team KEPL's mission now, to protect you four, no matter the cost," he says.

Yang looks down, "Ruby…Khazhak did all of this…for all of us?" she says.

Lloyd nods at turns to Taiyang, "You can't keep them from this fate, Taiyang. This is their path, and we can only support them in it. However, we can't force them down this path," he says as he face Yang again.

Yang looks up at him, "What?" she asks.

"Yang, if you are going to go down the right path, it must be of your own free will. I cannot force you down it. If you want to go after your mother first, just know that I'll be right behind you. But let's remember something – your mother has only been there for you once in your entire life, while your sister has always been there for you, and continues to do so even after you pushed her away. So let me ask you this, who is more important? Your mother…or your sister?" he asks her, looking straight into her eyes.

Yang back at Bumblebee for a moment, thinking, before she looks straight back at Lloyd with a determined look in her eyes, narrowing them as her choice has been made.

 _…Meanwhile, back in Atlas, at the Schnee Manor…_

Late at night, Weiss steps out of her bedroom, carrying a white suitcase and Myrtenaster, as she looks around cautiously, with Reaper standing behind her. They step out of the room, trying to be quiet, and when they turn, Weiss gasps and jumps at being surprised to see Klein in front of them. He puts a finger to his lips and shushes her before smiling.

Reaper nods, "We'd better get moving," he whispers.

They move down the hallway, footsteps muffled on the carpet, go down a staircase, and then clickety-clack their way across the entrance hall. They move down another hallway before Klein's scroll starts buzzing. They look at it as he pulls it out.

Klein picks up the call, "Master Whitley! I…um…yes, of course. I'll be just a moment," he says and clicks his scroll off, putting it away before he turns to Weiss and Reaper. "Head to the first floor library. I'll meet you both there," he whispers.

They nod and Klein heads back while they go in the opposite direction. She soon creep along outside Weiss' father's study door when they hear a glass crash and crouch behind a cushioned chair against the wall.

"You need to control yourself!" They hear Ironwood's voice in the study.

"You're talking to me about control? Do you have any idea what you're saying?" they hear Jacques reply.

"I am basing everything on my reports from YOUR daughter," Ironwood says.

"A daughter you stole!" Jacques angrily replies.

"Oh, we are NOT getting into that again," Ironwood retorts as Weiss and Reaper move closer to listen in.

"Oh. Yes, we have far more pressing matters to discuss, starting with your apparent lunacy!" Jacques says.

"Jacques!" Ironwood yells.

 _"Sounds like the two are having yet another lover's spat. This is getting tiresome,"_ Reaper mentally notes.

In the study, Jacques is sitting in his chair behind his desk while Ironwood stands in front of it, both hands on it as he leans in.

Ironwood sighs heavily, "Winter is one of my best. If she's telling me there's a threat in Mistral then I am not going to take that news lightly. She's been there for weeks, people are mobilizing, sudden spikes in weapons and Dust trades. Someone is about to make a play and I do not trust Leo to stop them," he says while Weiss and Reaper listen from the outside.

"You've never trusted anyone other than yourself!" Jacques retorts.

"AND FOR GOOD REASON!" Ironwood shouts while slamming his right fist onto the desk, damaging it, while shocking Weiss. "…If Oz had just listened to me from the start," he says, calming down a little.

"…You need to get a grip," Jacques says.

"…That's exactly what I'm doing. Our people need protection. By this time next week, the Kingdom of Atlas will be officially closing its borders. No on in; no one out. Without the council's permission," he declares as he stands upright.

Jacques leans in, "You mean, without YOUR permission?" he replies.

Ironwood leans back in, "And if that becomes the case, I would think you'd want to be on my good side," he says.

 _"Looks like Ironwood is making yet another stupid mistake. This will only cause further tension between the kingdoms,"_ Reaper mentally notes.

Ironwood walks away from the desk, heading to the door, while Jacques sighs and holds his hands. Outside, Weiss and Reaper hear him coming and Weiss uses her sword to create a black glyph onto the handle, while Reaper conjures up a small skull phantom to clasp the handle in its mouth as an extra precaution. When Ironwood tries to leave, the handle turns but the door will not open, even as he shakes it.

"It's locked," Ironwood says.

"What are you talking about?" Jacques asks.

Ironwood steps back and slams into the door with his shoulder, but it does not budge. Weiss and Reaper use this chance to keep moving down the hall on the carpet even as he slams into the door a few more times. They eventually make it to the first floor library, but find it empty.

"Klein! Klein, where are you?" Weiss quietly calls out as they look around.

A hidden door in the corner opens up, revealing Klein, whose eyes have now changed to red.

"Keep your voice down, I told you I'd be here," he says with a different accent. Weiss rushes over, dropping both her sword and her suitcase in order to hug him with both arms. Klein returns the hug as his eyes turn black. "Are you sure Mistral is safe?" he asks.

Weiss steps back and formally clasp her hands in front of her, "No, but it's where I'll find Winter," she says.

Klein's eyes then turn into a light brown, "I suppose she'll be the only family you have left after tonight," he says solemnly.

Weiss puts her hand on his shoulder," I'll always have you," she says, smiling.

"You most certainly will," he says, smiling back and turns to face Reaper. "Mr. Reaper, though I don't know you really that well, Miss Schnee trusts you, and that's good enough for me. But please…Take care of my little snowflake," he says.

Reaper bows his head to him, "You have my word," he replies.

They then hear a loud bang further back in the house, indicating that Ironwood had broken free out of the study.

"Klein?! Klein, get down here this instant!" they hear Jacques yell, and Klein's shoulders slump.

"Go, now," he says.

Weiss grabs her things and the two of them go through the secret passage in the corner of the library. Weiss stops and takes one last look back at Klein.

"Thank you, Klein," she says.

He nods to her and closes the door.

The two then moves through the secret passage to safety and freedom.

"If your sister is in Mistral, then that may help with my mission," Reaper notes.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asks.

"Do you remember when I told that Ruby has not been in Patch in months?" he asks, and she nods. "The truth is, now that you are back to your normal self, I can tell you…Ruby is heading for Mistral," he says.

This stuns Weiss, "What? Why would she go there?" she asks.

"Her uncle, Qrow Branwen, said that our enemies, the ones responsible for the Fall of Beacon; their trail leads all the way back to Haven. And so Ruby left to find them, and Khazhak left with her. Weiss…that is the mission that Khazhak entrusted to me after the Fall of Beacon. To reunite you with your leader, and to protect you at all costs," Reaper says.

"This whole time, Ruby has been looking for those responsible. Why?" Weiss asks.

"Because she is a huntress, but more she wants to protect the people she cares about. Yang, Blake, YOU, all of her friends and loved ones, and all the people of Remnant. Just as she has always wanted to do," Reaper says.

"Ruby…Khazhak wanted to protect us, in order to help her?" Weiss asks.

Reaper nods, "Yes…Weiss, your leader is more special than any of us could've realized. As such, a dangerous road lies ahead of her, one that she may not survive if she has to face it alone. One that will have challenges that most of her friends will not be able to help her with," he says.

"What?!" Weiss says, getting worried.

"That is why Khazhak separated Team KEPL, to watch over your team. He believes that only with you four together as a team again, can Ruby survive, and can we prevail. That is Team KEPL's mission now, to protect you four, and get your team back together again…Because without Team RWBY, we are all lost," he says, shocking Weiss.

 _…Meanwhile, in Menagerie…_

In Ghira's study, during the day, a shirtless Sun is seen resting on the couch, his wound bandaged up, and his head propped up against the arm of the couch and his hands folded on his chest. He slowly blinks awake and groans as he raises his head.

"Blake? Porphyrius?" he asks, and looks over to see Blake sitting on a chair across from the couch, her head bowed down and her hands in her lap, while Porphyrius leans against a bookshelf behind her, arms crossed as he faces them.

"Look who's finally awake," Porphyrius notes.

"This…is why, Sun. This is why I left them all behind," Blake says as she looks up at him.

"What are you…" Sun says as he sits up. "…Wait, where am I?" he asks.

"Back inside Ghira's study. We patched you up, though that White Fang girl managed to escape," Porphyrius says.

Blake gets up and walks over to the couch as Sun looks around in confusion, Porphyrius watching her the whole time.

"I am done seeing my friends get hurt because of me," Blake says.

"Blake…" Sun begins.

"Shut up! Do you think I like being alone? Every day…every day I think about them! Ruby, Weiss, Yang…they were my friends! I loved them like I never thought I could love anybody. And I hope they hate me for leaving," Blake says bitterly.

Sun raises himself up to reach out to her, "You don't mean that," he says.

"Yes I do!" she yells, forcing him to pull back. Blake holds her head in her right hand. "Everyone thinks they can help me, but they can't," she begins as she sits down next to him. "You saw Ilia last night and she's not even the worst! No. No more. They're better off without me. I made my choices and I'll deal with the consequences because they belong to ME," she says.

"You think you're being selfless, but you're not," Sun begins, making Blake turn to face him. "Yeah, that chameleon friend of yours got me pretty good. But I'd do it all again if it meant protecting you," he says, surprising her. "And I can promise Yang would say the same," he says, and Blake turns away, looking down. Sun sits up fully this time. "You can make your own choices, sure. But you don't get to make ours. When your friends fight for you, it's because we want to. So STOP PUSHING US OUT! It hurts more than anything the bad guys could ever do to us," he says as he looks down at the floor, while Blake who was facing him, turns away again.

"He's right," Porphyrius says, making them look at him as he walks over to them. "Blake, when I said I blamed you for what happened to Yang…It was never about her arm," he confesses.

"What?" she asks.

"I NEVER blamed you for that, because it wasn't your fault. It was Adam Taurus' doing, and I will make him pay for it. When Yang woke up, and found out you ran away again, she was crushed," he says, making Blake look horrified. "She became depressed, cold, and cynical. She didn't smile anymore. She even gave Ruby, her own sister, the cold shoulder. YOU did that to her. Yang was already abandoned once by her mother, as she has told you before. But now, she had to find out that you, her partner, teammate, and friend; that you abandoned her as well. It wasn't your fault that she lost her arm, but it WAS your fault that she lost her fire. Physical wounds heal the quickest, Blake, and even a limb can be replaced nowadays. But, it's the emotional scars, the wounds in our hearts – that hurt the most. YOU did that Yang, and to Ruby and Weiss. And I will never forgive you for that," Porphyrius explains.

Blake looks down at realizing the big mistake she made, but then Sun tries to cheer her up.

Sun looks at her, "But, that doesn't change the fact that they're still you're friends, and I know they still care about you," he says, making her smile a bit. "And don't worry, the next time I fight that chameleon girl, it'll be for my own sake, to get even-OW!" Sun says as he moves his arm, making his injury hurt again.

"Hmph. You can have her. Just remember that Taurus is mine," Porphyrius replies.

Sun goes to give him a thumbs up with his left hand, but then winces as the motion aggravates his injury, making Blake laugh a little.

"My hero," Blake mutters at Sun.

Just then, the door behind Blake that Sun crashed through the other night, crashes down again. Only this time, the culprit is Kali, who had been eavesdropping before she embarrassed herself, while Ghira stands behind her, looking down at her with a hand on his hip.

Kali pops back up, "Oh! Oh dear, would you look at that, he's awake. Thank goodness," she says, trying to play it off.

Ghira covers his face with his hand, "Kali, please," he says.

"Mom!" Blake yells.

Sun waves to them, "Hey, Mrs. B," he greets her.

"It's official, she's been spending way too much time with you, Sun," Porphyrius says, shaking his head.

Blake walks over to Kali, "What are you doing?!" she asks, flabbergasted.

"Well, sweetheart, your father needed to speak with the three of you," she says.

"What do you mean?" Porphyrius asks.

Ghira places Ilia's scroll on the coffee table, showing a master folder labelled W. F. with six subfolders inside. The subfolders are labelled: Assignment, E.L., P.R., E.W., S.F., and Untitled.

"I'm afraid you were right to be suspicious," Ghira says as he stands behind the coffee table while Blake and Sun sat on it, with Porphyrius standing next to them.

"What do you mean?" Blake asks.

"Adam Taurus is planning to overthrow the leader of the White Fang, and stage a full-scale attack on Haven Academy. It would be the Fall of Beacon all over again," he says.

Blake and Sun look down, "Not if we destroy the White Fang once and for all," Sun says.

"…No," Blake says, looking up. She stands up, full of decision. "We're not going to destroy the White Fang. We're going to take it back," she declares.

"If we're planning on going to Haven in Mistral, then this helps my mission," Porphyrius says, getting their attention.

"What mission?" Blake asks.

"Your leader, Ruby Rose, is heading for Haven," he says.

"What?!" Blake asks, shocked.

"She learned from her uncle that those responsible for the Fall of Beacon; their trail leads all the way back to Haven. And Khazhak went with her. Blake, your leader is more important than you realize. So important, that she may be the key to all of this," he explains.

"Wait, what do you mean that Ruby is the key to all of this?!" Sun asks.

"Ruby is special, more special than any one of us realized. She is going to stop those that threaten Remnant. But, those people will most likely attempt to stop her, to even try to kill her. That is why Khazhak sent each of us to watch over you all. You, Weiss, Yang, and Ruby; Team RWBY. You four may be our last chance for survival; that's what Khazhak believes. Team KEPL's mission is to reunite Team RWBY, and to protect the four of you, whatever the cost. If we are going to Mistral, then you will see your teammates there, Blake. They won't know about the White Fang's plans, so we'll have to warn them. Blake, you already ran away from them twice. Should we meet them there, you owe them an answer for leaving, and you must help them, because only together can we prevail. Now I ask you, Blake Belladonna, you already abandoned your team twice. Will you run away from them a third time?" he asks, narrowing his eye at her.

Blake looks away, thinking for a few moments, before she raises her head and stares straight at him, determination in her eyes.

… _Meanwhile, in Anima, in the destroyed village of Kuroyuri…_

Ren, Voshkie'ahk, and Nora run through the abandoned Kuroyuri village, trying to find the others.

"Not again, not again," Ren mutters with worry.

They pass under an arch leading to the center of town, and stop. Ren pants, while Nora is hardly winded. Ren lifts his head, his worried eyes changing to ones smiling in relief. In front of them is Ruby, Jaune, and Khazhak, all okay while Qrow remains propped up against a tree. The others turn to them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ruby asks.

"You guys are okay. Thank goodness," Voshkie'ahk mutters in relief.

Jaune puts his hand on his weapon, "Did you hear that noise? What was that?!" Jaune asks, worried.

Just then, Khazhak narrows his eyes, "…Something's coming," he says.

Ren's eyes widen and he falls to his knees, alarmed, "No…" he says.

"Ren! What is it?!" Ruby asks as footsteps can be heard getting closer.

"Wait, you guys hear that?" Jaune asks.

"No…" Ren says in weak protest as he bows his head.

"Ren?" Nora says, fear in her voice.

The footsteps come to a stop. Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk look back and their eyes widen in surprise.

"Oh no…" Voshkie'ahk mutters.

"…Oh crap…" Khazhak adds.

In front of them a short distance away, a bone horse appears, breathing loudly and exhaling black smoke. Glowing red lights are glowing within the bones, while around them is the back flesh of a Grimm. Ren lifts his head, a slight look of fear on his face. Weapons can be seen stuck into the back of a human-shaped torso that bulges out on top of the horse's back, along with a perpendicular line of bones sticking out from its spine. The torso rears up, revealing the humanoid half of the Grimm. The humanoid half has a pair of long, curved horns on its skull, while the face has a bone mask on it. The Grimm's mouth is merely thin strips of Grimm flesh stretching across an opening. The mouth, the bones, and the eyes all glow red. It is the Nuckelavee Grimm…The Nuckelavee twitches its head and then roars…

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. The members of Team KEPL reveal their objective to Team RWBY, but now the next step will be up to them to make. Meanwhile, Ruby and Khazhak's group face their next challenge. What will the other members of Teams RWBY and KEPL do next? Will Khazhak's group survive this new threat? The next chapter is the volume 4 finale. Until then, please Read and Review.**


	69. Chapter 64: No Safe Haven

**Here we are at Chapter 64. This is the volume 4 finale, so it will be a long one. Time to see how Khazhak and Ruby's group will fair against the Nuckelavee Grimm. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 64.**

* * *

 **Chapter 64: No Safe Haven**

… _In Anima, in the abandoned village of Kuroyuri…_

The sounds of thunder and gunfire can be heard in the village, where a billowing cloud of dust and debris rise in one part of the village, just barely above the rooftops of the destroyed buildings. Ruby and Jaune are seen falling back onto the ground, landing next to the tree that Qrow is still propped up against. Following them is Nora, who falls like them, while Ren, Khazhak, who falls onto one knee, and Voshkie'ahk manage to land on their feet next to them. In front of them, the Nuckelavee Grimm walks through the dust to stand in the town's center across from them. Ren looks on with a look of rage at seeing the one responsible for the deaths of his parents. The Nuckelavee's human half slumps on the back of the horse, its extra-long arms dragging across the ground. The human half twitches parts of its body before it rears up and sends out a shockwave roar that causes most of the teenagers except for Khazhak to flinch. The Grimm twitches its body around, and then looks at the teenagers before turning its head to look at Qrow.

Seeing him in danger. Jaune and Voshkie'ahk sheathe their weapons and run towards him. The Nuckelavee shoots out its right arm, able to extend it at a far reach, at them. Jaune and Voshkie'ahk jump over it, and reach Qrow. They both drape one of his arms around their shoulders and lift him up. They look to see the Grimm racing towards them. Nora looks at Ren and he takes a breath before placing his left hand on the ground and activates his semblance. His semblance reaches them, making them all gray out. This also causes the Nuckelavee to stop its advance and look around in confusion, as if it can't see them anymore. Jaune and Voshkie'ahk remain still before Jaune glances at Ren.

"Just get him to safety!" Ren yells.

Nora fires three grenades at it while Khazhak sends out his Lightning Oblivion technique. However, Khazhak notices his attack is much weaker than it used to be, but their shots hit the Grimm's body, making it turn to face the others. This gives Jaune and Voshkie'ahk the chance to move and get Qrow away from the ensuing battle. As their color returns, they prop Qrow up behind an old building away from the fight. Jaune narrows his eyes at him before he turns to leave. However, Qrow then grabs him by the hand, and they stare at each other for a moment before he passes out again.

"I'll stay here and watch over him. Go help the others!" Voshkie'ahk says as she kneels beside Qrow.

Jaune looks at them one more time before he nods and runs to rejoin the fight. As he runs by, Jaune sees Ruby flip over an attack by one of the Grimm's arms, using her scythe to jump up into the air. However, she gets nabbed by one of the arms and it slams her into the ground. Nora runs by her, but then gets hit by the second arm. Khazhak tries to run around the Grimm, but his weakened body makes it hard to do so, and he ends up getting knocked into the side of a building near the others.

 _"Crap, of all the times to face something like this, it just had to be while I'm in this weakened state. This is so god damn annoying,"_ Khazhak mentally notes while gritting his teeth through the pain.

Gunfire hits the Nuckelavee's back, causing it to turn around to see Ren firing his auto-pistols at it as he runs around it. The Grimm shoots its arms at him, catching both of his guns and stopping him.

"Guys, keep moving, go in a circle!" Jaune shouts.

Just then, Khazhak attacks from behind, sending a Lightning Slash technique that hits its back, causing it to release Ren. When it looks back, Khazhak starts running around in a circle as best as he can with the others. The group starts running around the Nuckelavee, firing off their weapons at it, while avoiding its arm attacks. Khazhak fires spark shots from his left hand at it as Jaune moves in to slash at one of the horse's legs. Jaune looks up as the horse's head turns to face him, and then it back-kicks Jaune away. Jaune tumbles before stopping next to Ruby and Khazhak, who stop with him.

"Khazhak, now might be a good time to use that power of yours!" Jaune says.

"Not that simple, Jaune!" Khazhak yells before he jumps away to avoid another arm attack from the Grimm while the other two roll out of the way. "I can't use it in this state, and I need Bahamut's consent to use it, and I have to use it sparingly. We're on our own!" he says.

 **"Yes, if I were to allow it now, in your current state, it would kill you. That, I cannot allow. So yes, you are on your own,"** Bahamut states.

Jaune grits his teeth and sheathes his sword, causing Ruby to get distract at him.

"What are you doing?!" she asks.

With his sword still in its sheathe, Jaune pulls the whole thing out, and suddenly, the sheathe opens out to become a large sword around his own, an upgrade he made to it weeks ago. Ruby smiles and fires off some shots from her sniper while Jaune charges at it. Khazhak focuses on support and fires off more spark shots, despite the fact that even those are weaker now. The Grimm roars as the shots hit its body, giving Jaune the chance to slash at one of its legs. The horse half of the Grimm roars in pain before it back-kicks Jaune away. After that, the Grimm steps back before the human half suddenly starts spinning around on top with its arms extended. The group tries to run, but they all get hit and knocked away onto the ground by the attack.

"Khazhak, are you alright?!" Ruby asks as she gets up and runs to his side.

"I'm…fine," Khazhak painfully replies as he gets onto one knee, holding his torso again.

"Khazhak, I think you should-," Ruby begins.

"Ruby, please don't even think about finishing that sentence. If you do, I'll have no choice but to obey, as is my oath. I WILL fight by your side in this battle, no matter what," Khazhak stops her before they both look back to their enemy.

The human half of the Nuckelavee bends forward, wrapping its arms around itself, as the bones along its spine grow and become longer. It then rears up and the thin pieces of Grimm flesh covering its mouth break apart, allowing it to release a very loud roar that forces Ruby and Jaune to cover their ears. Seeing this, Ren runs up the dead sakura tree, standing on one of its branches, and fires his guns at the Grimm's back. The Grimm turns around and lashes out its right arm at him. Ren jumps up, but gets caught by the extended arm and gets pinned to the side of a building. The Nuckelavee prepares its left arm to attack, which Nora notices.

"Ruby!" she calls out.

Ruby nods and swings her scythe around. Nora jumps on it, and Ruby swings it around to launch Nora in between Ren and the Grimm's left arm as it attacks him. Ren covers his eyes, but when nothing happens, he opens them up and lowers his arms. Noticing the Grimm's second arm is stretched above him, he looks up to see Nora's hammer pinned to the building above him, with Nora hanging on to it by its handle. As Ren looks up at her, Nora then looks down at him.

"…Stop looking!" she says as she pulls up her skirt to hide herself.

"Ah-ugh," Ren stutters as he looks away, embarrassed.

 _"Oh, for the love of…"_ Khazhak rolls his eyes before he fires off another spark shot at the Grimm's back.

The Nuckelavee roars and releases Ren and Nora as its attention turns to Khazhak and the others. The Grimm launches its right arm at Khazhak, but Jaune moves in to block it with his shield. Ruby jumps around him, followed by Khazhak as they rush the Grimm. The Nuckelavee sends out its left arm at Ruby, but it gets deflected by Khazhak, allowing Ruby to get in and slash at its side with her scythe. She then uses her semblance to zip around and land another strike on the horse's left side. However, the Grimm pulls both Jaune and Khazhak around with its arms, swinging them into Ruby and causing all three to crash onto the ground. Before the Grimm can attack again, Nora comes in and swings her hammer on the Grimm's back. This only angers it further and it swings around to grab Nora, and proceeds to slam her on the ground a few times before throwing her off to the side, her aura becoming depleted. Ren sees this and loses it. He immediately rushes at the Grimm, firing of his pistols at it. The Grimm roars and launches its arms at him. Ren rushes forward, slashing away its right arm, but in his rage, is unable to stop the left arm and gets knocked onto the ground. Getting back on his feet, Ren charges at the Nuckelavee again, consumed by rage.

"Ren, knock it off!" Jaune yells.

"Don't let your anger consume you!" Khazhak adds as he slowly rises to his feet.

But Ren doesn't listen to them and continues his charge, screaming the whole time. However, the Grimm's right arm pulls back from behind him, and grabs his left leg. The Grimm flings Ren around, slamming him into the ground once which makes him lose his pistols, and then slamming him into the ground a second time before releasing him. Ren rolls on the ground and stops near Nora, his aura depleted like hers.

"Damn it!" Khazhak mutters before he fires off another spark shot at the Grimm to gain its attention.

The attack works, and the Nuckelavee swings its arms at them. The three manage to evade them, but are back on the defensive. The Nuckelavee then turns its attention to Ruby, who fires off more shots from a distance. It launches its left arm at her, but she jumps into the air to dodge it, firing several more rounds at it before landing on a rooftop and then jumps away when it attacks her again. Next, Khazhak comes up on its right flank, slashing at both its hind legs before he makes some distance between them. He then starts running in a semi-circle while firing off more spark shots at it. Meanwhile, Jaune comes at the side, slashing his blade at the horse's body to get its attention off of Khazhak. They keep it busy long enough to see Nora and Ren regroup on their feet, seeing that Ren has calmed down. Just then, the others regroup with them while the Nuckelavee stalks around them from the front. Nora then picks up her hammer.

Ruby looks at Ren, "Ren," she calls out and he looks up at her. "Jaune and I can take care of its arms," she says.

"I will take care of the horse," Nora adds, while Khazhak nods.

"Khazhak, can you use your semblance to disorient it?" Ruby asks.

Khazhak breathes a little hard, "I can try, but I'll need a minute to charge up. I only got enough strength for one more technique," he says.

"Alright, we'll buy you the time you need," Ruby says.

"And I'll take care of the rest," Ren finishes.

Nora turns around and runs to a building, jumping up along it to reach its rooftop. The Nuckelavee looks right as a few shots hit it, using its left arm, to block them. It then shoots its right arm at Ruby, who jumps over the first strike. She lands on a roof and avoids a second attack, jumping onto another rooftop before jumping high into the air to fire a few more shots at the Grimm. She then fires behind her to send her to the ground, landing on her feet, but then jumping back to dodge another strike from the Grimm's right arm. She fires a shot to send her high into the air, and as the Grimm begins to pull its arm back, she fires behind her to send her racing to the ground, where she impales the first arm into the ground with her scythe. The Grimm roars in pain, however, suddenly Ren's knife gets thrown in the air, flying around until it stabs itself into the horse's right side, making it reel back. The Grimm turns to face Jaune, and launches its left arm at him. However, Ren, with Jaune's shield fully extended, shoots over from a nearby rooftop, and pins the second arm down with the shield.

"Now!" Ren yells and Jaune moves over to pin the second arm to the ground with his sword. "Khazhak!" he yells.

A short distance away, Khazhak is seen focusing lightning into his blade. Knowing he'll only get one chance, Khazhak puts everything he's got left into the technique.

"EXPLOSIVE THUNDER DRAGON WAVE!" he yells and swings his sword downward.

The blast damages the Grimm, and forces it back a few steps, close enough to the building Nora is on. Khazhak then collapses onto the ground, passed out.

"Khazhak!" Ruby yells with worry.

"Nora, hurry!" Ren yells. . From the rooftop, Nora freefalls and slams her hammer on the horse's head, killing it. The human half of the Nuckelavee roars in pain as Ren walks up to retrieve his knife, causing it further pain. Ren walks up to stand in front of it, and it roars in his face. Ren flips the knife in a reverse grip, _"For my mother,"_ he says in his head, and then cuts off the Grimm's left arm. The Grimm whips around, but he grabs it by one of its horns. _"For my father,"_ Ren thinks before moving around to cut off its right arm. The Grimm whips its body around again before roaring at him. _"For all those that you've slain,"_ Ren thinks and strikes a gash into its flailing torso. Ren then close his eyes."…For myself," he says.

Ren then opens his eyes and swings his knife, beheading the Grimm, killing it. It dies in a pillar of black smoke. Ren drops his knife while breathing heavily before he lets out a sigh of relief. However, he then gets tackled to the ground by a giggling Nora. He hugs her back, offering a single laugh. Jaune looks on smiling, until he sees Ruby running towards Khazhak, kneeling beside him to see if he's alright.

"Khazhak! Khazhak! Are you okay?!" Ruby yells, but gets no answer.

Ren and Nora go to help while Jaune goes to check on Qrow and Voshkie'ahk, and sees that they're alright.

Qrow wakes up a bit, "…It's quiet now…Nice job, kid," he says.

"How is Khazhak?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"Not in good shape. We'll have to carry him now too," Jaune says.

Just then, a beeping noise is heard in the distance, "Guys! I think I hear something!" they hear Ren yell out.

Approaching from the sky are two wood and metal airships with two propellers and a pair of wing-like sails on the sides, with a third sail on top. The two airships land in the town center. On the center sails, is the symbol for the Kingdom of Mistral. When they land, Nora points in Qrow's direction. A man in a brown flight suit with an air tank on his back carries Qrow on a stretcher with Ruby walking alongside them, her hand on his shoulder. Another pair of men help carry Khazhak onto the same airship, with Voshkie'ahk by his side. When everyone boards the airship, the two vessels take off into the air.

"How did you find us out here?" Jaune asks the airman.

"We were on patrol and saw the smoke. Nobody's been out here for years, thought something might be wrong," the airman replies.

Meanwhile, Ruby crouches by Qrow and holds his hand, while Voshkie'ahk crouches by her brother's side.

"You're going to be okay, brother. You won't let something like this stop you," Voshkie'ahk mutters, more for her own sake than her brother's.

"What if we don't make it in time?" Ruby asks, worried.

"Ruby," Jaune says as he looks forward.

Ruby and the others look up…and see the flourishing kingdom of Mistral. The whole city is built on and around a tall mountain, with a waterfall seen going down through the center, and a large, East Asian castle of sorts sitting on the mountain's top. They all smile at finally reaching the kingdom.

Ruby looks down at Qrow, "We made it, Uncle Qrow," she says happily, still holding his hand.

Meanwhile, Ren and Nora sit on the edge of the open airship, legs dangling on the edge. Nora looks out at the city, happy, while Ren is watching her. He starts smiling and puts his right hand on her left hand, startling her a little bit. He turns her hand over to hold it in his, and Nora turns to face him, smiling, which he returns. She scoots closer to him and rest her head on his shoulder, and he rests his head on hers as the two airships fly into the city. Later on, Ruby walks into a double bed accommodation, which has barren furnishings, two beds, a large desk, and a night stand. She sees Qrow sleeping under the blankets of the bed closer to the windows in the room, having been cured of the poison in his system when they arrived. Ruby places Crescent Rose, in its non-combat form, on the other bed and walks over to Qrow, resting a hand on his head. She then walks over to the desk, sitting in a chair, and picks up a pen to write on a notepad.

She starts writing, _"Hey sis, I hope my letters have been reaching you and Dad. Hand-written stuff's never been super reliable, but I guess it's all we've got these days. Anyway, in case you haven't been getting them, I want to say I'm sorry for leaving the way I did. I know you told me it was a reckless idea, and after everything I've been through, I can definitely say you were right. It's been hard, on all of us, and I'm not just talking about the monsters we fought out here,"_ she writes.

Meanwhile, in Atlas, an Atlesian pilot counts some lien while leaning against his airship.

"Okay, you two can hide out back in the cargo hold. I'll take you as far as I can, but if we get caught, your own your own. Understand?" he says.

Weiss and Reaper nod affirmatively to him and begin walking to the airship.

Meanwhile, Ruby continues writing, _"Every step we made took us further and further from the things we knew. And every morning we woke up wondering, if just over the next hill would be something good…or something terrible,"_ she writes as the airship takes off with Weiss and Reaper on board. In Menagerie, Blake is in Ghira's office as she places a small chest on the desk and opens it. Inside are several objects, including a flag with the new White Fang emblem on it, a spiral notebook, and a book. Blake pulls out the flag and stares at it intensely. _"It's scary not knowing what's going to happen next. And the things we do know now – just how bad it can get – almost makes it all worse,"_ Ruby writes.

Meanwhile, Yang Xiao Long is on the same ship that Blake once took, looking at a ticket and a picture of Team STRQ in her right hand. Her attire has now changed. She is now wearing a tan jacket with orange lining and gold edging, unzipped halfway to show an orange crop top. The coat has darker brown short sleeves, a thick collar that completely encircles her neck, and two long gold-trimmed rectangular tails. She is also wearing fitted black pants, and her hair has been let down again like it used to. Around her hips and over the tails of her coat is a brown belt, which has two pieces of dark brown material trimmed in gold attached to it. The first covers from her left hip to the back of the belt and is folded over the belt, and the second is attached from the right hip ad almost around to the other piece of material. She is wearing knee-high brown boots with gold caps on the heel and toe, with the toe cap attaching to a gold strap across the front of her ankle, and a gold zipper on the upper half of the front of the boots. A single small buckled strap is on the upper outside of her boots, and a purple bandanna tied around her left knee. She has on a pair of black fingerless gloves with long brown cuffs reaching up to mid forearms are on her arms. She also has on a pair of black-rimmed aviator sunglasses. Yang is leaning up against a wall on the ship, with Lloyd leaning next to her, followed by her motorcycle, Bumblebee sitting next to them. Yang slowly lowers her right arm as they look outward.

 _"You told me once that bad things just happen. You were angry when you said it, and I didn't want to hear it,"_ Ruby continues writing. Meanwhile, back at their home in Patch, Taiyang sits on the couch, staring at a framed photo of Team STRQ and sighs. _"But you were right, bad things do happen, all the time, every day,"_ Ruby writes. Meanwhile, Zwei barks at Taiyang, and he smiles, and looks across the room at a framed photo of Team RWBY. On the photo, "New Friends!" is written with a heart shape drawn near the writing, showing them all smiling. _"…Which is why I'm out here, to do whatever I can, wherever I can, and hopefully do some good…We've all lost something, and I've seen what loss can do to people…"_ she writes.

In another room, Jaune sits up against a bed, staring with a frustrated look on his face at his sword and shield propped up against a wall, most likely thinking of Pyrrha. Ren and Nora open the door and walk in, with Jaune smiling at them. Ren sets his father's dagger next to Jaune's shield. Nora sits beside Jaune and leans on him, while Ren sits on the bed behind them and rests his hand on Nora's shoulder, as they all think about the loved ones they've lost.

 _"…But if we gave up every time we lost, then we'd never be able to move forward…"_ Ruby continues writing.

In another room, Khazhak is sleeping on a bed while Voshkie'ahk sits beside him, lightly stroking his hair as he rests.

 _"…We'd never have a chance to see what beautiful things the future might have waiting for us. We'd never have the strength to change; whether it's ourselves, or the world around us…"_ Ruby writes.

Meanwhile, in the airship's cargo hold, Weiss sits on top of her suitcase gazing out into the sunset as the airship flies over the Atlesian Mountains. Reaper walks in front of her and she smiles at him before they both gaze out into the sunset. In Menagerie, Blake puts down the current White Fang flag and picks up the old white and blue flag, from then they were peaceful. She lowers it and smiles and Sun and Porphyrius, the former sitting in a chair with his arms crossed behind his head, and the latter leaning against a bookcase behind him, arms crossed and smiling.

 _"…And we'd never be there for other people who might one day be lost without us. This is what we were training for, Yang, to become huntresses, to be the ones to stand up and do something about all the bad in the world…"_ Ruby writes.

Meanwhile, the captain and the first mate from the ship smile and wave goodbye to Yang and Lloyd as Yang drives Bumblebee away from the port with Lloyd riding behind her on her motorcycle.

 _"…Because there are plenty of people out there who are still lost and even more who will try to gain everything they can from their sorrow…Believe me when I say, I know it can feel impossible, like every single day is a struggle against some unstoppable monster we can never hope to beat…"_ Ruby writes.

In Salem's domain, Cinder snaps her fingers as the bodies of two dead Beowolves dissipate around her. Mercury leans back against a wall as he watches her, with Emerald next to him. Emerald puts two finger to her head, focusing as she creates a hallucination of Ruby, on her knees and pleading for mercy, with an injured Khazhak on the ground right in front of her. Cinder fires a large stream of fire at the hallucination, glaring at it with her eye glowing. Nearby, Salem watches on, looking quite pleased.

 _"…But we have to try, if not for us, then for the people we've already-,"_ she stops and crosses out the last few words as she alters her statement. _"…Then for the people we haven't lost yet…"_ she writes. Just then, two tears fall onto the page. She wipe her tears away as she writes. _"…I miss you so much. I miss Weiss and Blake too. But I think you'd all be proud to know that I made it to Mistral. All of us did, and we even ran into Uncle Qrow along the way. Even more, we found someone that Khazhak knows. This person was saved by Qrow and was being taken care of by him and Ozpin. I can't say who it is, but I can say it's someone that will help us, and someone that Khazhak's happy to see again…"_ she writes.

Just then, Qrow grunts as he starts to wake up, pushing himself over with one arm and propping his head up on the other, grunting. Ruby stops writing, and she moves to check on him.

"Hey, aren't I normally the one saving you?" Qrow jokes.

Ruby wipes her tears away and smiles down at Qrow.

 _"…Uncle Qrow's going to take us to see Professor Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven Academy. And he told us some things that you're gonna wanna hear, things that I can't trust will make it to you in this letter. But maybe, if you join us, he could tell you himself. With Beacon gone, they'll need Dad at Signal more than ever, and I know you need to focus on yourself before I can expect you to come out with me. But it sure would be great to get Team RWBY back together again. Khazhak hasn't told me where his teammates are, but I hope they're doing okay. I didn't ask him where they went, but I know they're doing something to help us from their end. I just wish they could come back soon too, along with you, Weiss, and Blake. I miss you all so much. I would love to see us all together again…"_ she writes back in her letter after checking on Qrow.

Meanwhile, Yang rides down a path on Bumblebee, with Lloyd sitting behind her, as they come to a stop at a crossroads and look at the signpost in the center. The signpost pointing right is for Mistral, while the signpost pointing left is for Kuroyuri, though the name has been spray-painted over with the word "Bandits" in big red letters.

Yang sighs, "You are in so much trouble when I find you," she says, smiling as she looks back at Lloyd.

"Better not keep them waiting," Lloyd says and they continue their trip, appearing to be heading for Mistral.

 _"…Until next time, your loving sister, Ruby Rose…Oh! P.S. I'll be sure to give you the address of where we're staying in Mistral! I'd love to hear back from you and Dad, and I can't wait to fill you in on whatever's going to happen next! Now that we've made it across Anima I really think things are going to start going our way…"_ Ruby finishes her letter.

A moment later, Ruby hears the door open and looks to see Voshkie'ahk enter the room, smiling. She nods her head towards her room, and Ruby takes that as a sign to check on Khazhak while Voshkie'ahk remains to tend to Qrow. Ruby enters the siblings' room, just like her own, and goes to sit beside him. He still seems to be asleep, and she slowly puts her left hand on his right cheek. A moment later, she hears a groan and her eyes widen as Khazhak slowly opens his eyes.

"Khazhak. You're okay," Ruby mutters with relief.

Khazhak looks back at her and smiles, "I made a promise, remember," he says.

Ruby wraps her arms around his head, hugging him, and he responds with one arm around her back. Ruby cries a few more tears of joy as she snuggles closer to him, happy to see that he'll be alright.

… _An unknown amount of time later…_

At night in Mistral, Qrow is seen sitting at a bar, now fully healed from his wound. A moment later, someone approaches him from behind.

"Excuse me?" he hears and turns around to see a young boy standing behind him.

The boy has a tanned complexion, freckles, and black hair. His eyes have central heterochromia, with green as the main color of the iris and a ring of yellow around the pupils. He is wearing a dirty white collared shirt that has a low v-neck, with crisscrossing laces across the gap in the neck. Over his shirt, he is wearing orange suspenders that hold up olive colored pants, with brown patches sewn onto the knees. The ends of his pant legs are somewhat covered by a pair of large, dark brown work boots. Around his neck is a small white scarf, and is wearing orange gloves with ark gray straps on them. A multicolored, striped scarf hangs from the left pocket of his pants.

"You know, I don't think they allow kids in here, pipsqueak," Qrow says.

"…Shut up I'm getting there," the boy says, looking at his left arm as it moves, with Qrow giving him a questioning look. "Um…I'm supposed to tell you…I'd like my cane back?" he says.

Qrow's eyes widen in surprise for a moment before she starts nodding as he smiles. He stands up, holding Ozpin's cane in its compact form, which is just the handle part of it.

Qrow looks at the cane, "Hm. It's good to see you again, Oz," he says and then tosses the cane to the boy.

The boy catches it with his right hand and presses a button on the hilt, extending the baton part of the cane. He grasps the baton with his left hand, surprised, before looking up at Qrow with a determined face.

"So that's how it is, huh," they hear behind them and both look back to see Khazhak walking up to them. Khazhak narrows his eyes at the boy, "It seems we have much to discuss…Ozpin…" he says menacingly…and then activates his left arm blade…

* * *

 **And that's the chapter and the volume 4 finale. I said it would be another long one, but hopefully it works. I couldn't resist putting Ruby's letter in it because it was so emotional. Anyway, Ruby and Khazhak's group have finally made it to Mistral, and both Khazhak and Qrow survived their situations. Meanwhile, the other members of their teams are now on their way to Mistral for the most part. But now, a new player joins the fray, and is already on Khazhak's bad side. What awaits our young warriors in the next volume? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	70. Chapter 65: Reaper Character Short

**Here we are at Chapter 65, and the beginning of Volume 5. Like the show, the next few chapters will be character shorts for the rest of Team KEPL. They'll be short, but I'll get through them quickly enough, and then we can begin the next volume. The first one is on Reaper, and like the three for WBY, are mainly flashbacks. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 65. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 65: Reaper Character Short**

 _...An unknown amount of time before Reaper meets Khazhak…_

It was night in the kingdom of Mistral. Things were relatively quiet out with most of the population asleep, with only those that work late at night, for good and not so good reasons, still up and about. In the northern section of the continent, just outside the kingdom's walls, there wasn't a whole lot of urban settlement. The formations across the mountain side of that part of the continent were more rough and rugged, thus making it more difficult to build homes there, even if they would be on the side of the mountain. Luckily for one, there was one spot that offered enough flat ground for some much needed training. Standing in the center of the rocky arena, a familiar twin scythe could be seen…Edom Soul Reaper. However, he did not have the mask is became well known for. Rather, the one he is wearing now is white, a little transluscent, and covers everything except for his eyes. He sat, cross-legged in his old outfit, with his weapon laying in front of him. It had been two years prior that he first came to Mistral, that he first came to start his new life in a kingdom he had never been to before. It took some time to get used to the new surroundings here, but he adjusted. Anything was better than back home…where everything went to Hell.

A calm breeze flowed by, though Reaper would not feel it against his face, considering his old mask. He remained in his meditative state for a while longer, listening to nothing but the cool night breeze, and his own slow breathing. Eventually though, his eyes opened up, and he grabbed his weapon and quickly stood up. He began twirling his weapon around, slowly, but fluently. The blades would come close to the ground, but never touch it. He slowly moved his body around with his weapon, picking up speed as he moved along. It had been only a little over a year since he made this weapon. He had gotten used to it, but getting used to it would simply not do. He had to master this weapon is he was to not only survive, but become strong enough to fight those that cause harm to the innocent, to strike fear into their hearts.

 _"…How long…How long has it been since it all came crashing down?"_ Reaper wonders as he continues to twirl his twin scythe around.

His thoughts go back to his past, back to his former life, back when he was still with his family, his parents. Back to before the fire. He would be helping his mother at home, or with her shopping, and his father would be at work, sometimes too busy to come home on a few nights. It was a happy life, and he was lucky. But like all things, even luck, runs outs.

Speaking of which, Reaper stopped his motions and inclined his head left…when some growling could be heard. He slowly turns around to see a large pack of Beowolves appear from behind some rock formations. They came, attracted to the negative thoughts of his former life. Reaper watched as they surrounded him. Reaper waited patiently for them to make the first move, and he wouldn't have to wait long. One Grimm from his left flank made the first charge and lunged at him. However, Reaper swung his scythe around and sliced through the neck of the beast, separating its head from its body. Seeing one of their own dead, the rest charge at Reaper. Reaper twirls his twin scythe around before jumping into the air. Reeling his weapon back, he falls and swings his weapon down, shoving the blade into the spine of one Grimm. He then fires off one of his hidden knives at another Grimm coming at his rear, impaling itself in its chest. He pulls the knife back, making the Beowolf come with it, and crashing into a second one. Removing his blades, Reaper twirls his twin scythe around before swinging it around to cut through two more Beowolves, followed by an upward swing on a third. Two Grimm attack from the rear, but Reaper backflips over them while separating his weapon into two separate scythes. He lands behind them and rushes forth, swinging his blades and slicing them both in half.

He then fires off both of his knives, having both of them stab into another Beowolf's side. He pulls hard and manages to swing the Grimm into a large rock, destroying it and killing the Grimm. Putting his scythes back together, Reaper blocks a swipe from one Beowolf's claws before he counters with two swings at its chest and neck. Reaper looks around to see only three more Beowolves still alive. Reaper activates his semblance, holds out his left hand, and sends out three of his skull phantoms at the Grimm. However, when the phantoms hit the Grimm, they appear to be unaffected and growl at him.

 _"Damn…so they really don't work on them, not even here. That just makes things more complicated,"_ Reaper mentally groans.

The three Beowolves all charge at him. Reaper responds in kind and twirls his twin scythe around. He slides under one when it jumps at him, jumps over a second that comes in from behind the first, and then slices through the third, leaving it in two. Reaper turns around and goes back against the last two. He throws his twin scythe at the first, the weapon slicing the Grimm's lower legs off. The weapon flies through the air and returns to him, allowing Reaper to finish it off with a quick decapitation. The third and final Beowolf growls before it runs at him. Reaper twirls his scythe around before he throws at the Grimm, the weapon imbedding itself it its left chest, but not stopping it. When it gets close, Reaper jumps over the Grimm while grabbing his weapon and pulling it out, leaving a large gash wound in the Grimm's left chest. The Grimm tries to get back up, only to have a scythe blade imbed itself into its neck. Reaper then rips the blade out, nearly taking the head clear off its body. Reaper takes a deep breath and looks around, seeing the dead Grimm's evaporating bodies all around him.

"I'd say that's enough for tonight. I need to get back to the city. My custom order should be done by now," Reaper mutters before he takes his leave to return to the kingdom.

 _…A little later, back in Mistral…_

Reaper travels through the dimly lit streets of Mistral, going by most shops and homes that all seem to be closed, or the residents are asleep for the nighty. Eventually, he reaches his destination: a weapon and armor shop that is still open even at this hour. He walks inside, seeing a plethora of weapons and armor along the walls and in the display cases. He pays them no mind and walks straight to the counter to speak with the owner. The owner is an older man with brown hair, a beard, and wearing gloves and a leather apron over a shirt and pants, all looking a little dirty from work.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd show up," the man says.

"Have you completed my request?" Reaper asks, not wasting time.

"Ah, yes, I just finished it a few minutes ago. I must admit, it took a little longer than I thought it would. Just give me a minute," he says and goes into the back. A moment later, he comes back out, carrying something in his hands, wrapped up in a black cloth. "I've never made anything like this before. But with your designs and your help with getting the materials, it turned out alright. But, it should still work just like that mask of yours you're wearing right now, just as you asked," he says and hands the object to Reaper. Reaper leans his weapon against the counter, and takes the item. He takes the cloth off, revealing an intricate skull mask…his skull mask. "I think it should go well with that armor of yours. Gives off a nice intimidating feel to it," the man says, proud of his work.

"Thank you. This will most certainly do," Reaper says and pays the man before leaving.

"Hey, uh, what was your name again?" the man asks.

Reape stops and glances back, "Edom W-…No, you don't have to concern yourself with my name. It is the name of dead man," Reaper says and leaves, leaving the owner confused.

 _…A little later…_

In a remote part of the kingdom, Reaper stands in front of a fire he set himself inside an old barrel. He then takes off his old mask, revealing his scarred face. He throws the old mask and throws it into the fire, watching it burn. He then puts on his new skull mask, and the eyes light up. Reaper takes a few calming breaths with it, seeing that it actually worked a little better than the old one.

"This will do nicely," he mutters, now his voice sounding deeper and more robotic, making it scarier. "Yes…the name I once held is long gone now…From now on…I am Edom…Soul…Reaper," he declares, his eyes glowing.

 _…Flashback end..._

Reaper wakes up, now in his new outfit, sitting against a wall and glances up a bit to see that he is back in the airship he hitched a ride on, along with his charge, Weiss Schnee. Weiss then notices that Reaper has woken up and looks back at him.

"Reaper?" he hears Weiss ask and looks at her. "Are you okay? You were out for a while," she asks, a little concerned.

Reaper shakes it off, "I am fine, Weiss…Just thinking about old stuff. That is all," he says and stands to look out through the windows to the setting sun along with Weiss.

 _"I'm coming, Khazhak…We'll be there soon."_

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 **And that's the chapter. Like I said, short, but it gets the job done. We get to see a little more into the past of Reaper, but just as one question is answered, another is revealed. Who knows what we'll see in the next character shorts (besides me)? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	71. Chapter 66: Porphyrius Character Short

**Here we are at Chapter 66. This is Porphyrius' time to shine now with his character short as we learn about one incident involving him from the past that was mentioned early in the story. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 66. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 66: Porphyrius Character Short**

… _In Menagerie…_

Porphyrius stands outside the Belladonna home in Menagerie, and it is late at night. Around him are several rocks of different sizes, scattered around like a circle. He takes a few deep breaths, and then activates his semblance. The purple flames from before erupt from the emblem on his eyepatch. The rocks around him start to get a faint purple outline, and then they begin to slowly float above the ground, slowly moving up inch by inch. He controls his breathing and ands more power to his semblance, this time performing it on himself. His body starts to glow a faint purple and it too begins to slowly float above the ground. The rocks move until they stop in mid-air at the same height as his chest. Then they begin to spin around him as he focuses his semblance. This continues on for a few more minutes before Porphyrius decides to take it to the next level.

 _"Let's see if this works,"_ Porphyrius thinks before he lets himself down back onto the ground.

He raises his left hand and starts to curl his fingers, like he has something in the palm of his hand and is crushing it. The rocks floating around him start to rise further as he raises his hand. As he curls his fingers more, they actually start to break, like there's a force crushing them into small pebbles. Porphyrius starts to sweat from this and grits his teeth as he tries to keep himself in check. The rocks break and get smaller as he raises his hand further up. Once they are high enough, Porphyrius closes his hand and then swings it down hard, making the rocks crash into the ground. When the dust settles, Porphyrius deactivates his semblance, the purple flames from his eyepatch dissipating. He looks around to see the rocks imbedded deep into the ground. Taking a few calming breaths, Porphyrius sits on the ground, cross-legged, and looks up into the star-lit night as his mind wanders elsewhere.

 _"Your anger is your ultimate weakness, Porphyrius. If you don't master your emotions, they will master you, and that won't help anyone,"_ Khazhak's words echo in his mind.

 _"I can't let it happen again. Twice now I've lost control, and twice it nearly hurt innocent people,"_ Porphyrius thinks as his mind goes to the past.

 _…Sometime after the first formation of Team KEPL…_

The members of Team KEPL are currently in a village outside the kingdom of Vale, and things are not looking good. Then again, that's gonna happen when Grimm are destroying the place. The four boys fight off the Grimm while keeping them away from the evacuating civilians. Khazhak swings his swords, slicing through two Beowolves. Behind him Reaper swings his twin scythe upwards, stabbing through a Creep before he flings it over him and slams it on the ground. In another part of the village, Porphyrius and Lloyd are firing off their weapons at several more Beowolves, and even a few Nevermores that are flying above them. An Ursa comes charging in at them. Lloyd runs back against it, and when they get close, grabs the Ursa by the neck with his right claw, picks it up, and slams it into the ground before crushing its windpipe.

"Hope the people are out of the village now. This place has gone nuts!" Lloyd notes.

Porphyrius jumps onto one rooftop and then jumps up again to slash his arm blades at one Nevermore, taking off one of its wings, and then lands on the ground next to Lloyd while the Nevermore crashes down behind them.

"This doesn't look good. Even if we managed to get rid of these Grimm, this village will still be left in shambles. Any survivors will have to either rebuild or move to somewhere else," Porphyrius says. He then notices a few Beowolves from a distance turn away from them, and they go somewhere else, like they're drawn to something. "Hey, get back here!" he yells and runs after them.

"Porphyrius, wait!" Lloyd yells, but gets held back by a few Ursai.

Porphyrius chases down the Beowolves, eventually finding them breaking through the front door of one small home. Porphyrius runs inside and finds one waiting for him. However, he fires off his rifles, filling it full of holes. Moving past the dead Grimm, Porphyrius moves deeper into the house…only to hear some screaming. He moves faster than before, entering into a backroom…But he is already too late. He finds that the Grimm have already killed someone, a young child, and have ripped his body apart. The scene before him is something he never wanted to see…and it caused him to lose it. He clenches his fists, and purple flames erupt from his eyepatch.

"…AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Porphyrius screams as his semblance goes berserk.

The change in gravity crushes the Grimm, and destroys the home, leaving only Porphyrius still standing. In the village, the rest of the team feel the change in the air and look in the direction of Porphyrius. The Grimm all do the same, and begin to retreat, but most get caught in the burst of gravity, and are crushed. The members of the group fall onto their hands and knees as the force of gravity pushes down on them. They slowly move across the ground until they see Porphyrius, still screaming into the air as his semblance goes haywire. Homes and buildings around them are slowly crushed under the weight of his semblance.

"Porphyrius, you'll tear the whole village apart! Calm down!" Khazhak yells out, but Porphyrius doesn't answer. Khazhak slowly gets back onto his feet and slowly makes his way to Porphyrius as the village continues to be destroyed. Once he gets close enough, he makes his move. "I'm sorry Porphyrius," he mutters.

Khazhak then grabs Porphyrius' skull with his hands and releases his semblance, unleashing lightning onto Porphyrius.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Porphyrius screams in pain from the lightning.

But Khazhak doesn't let up until Porphyrius finally succumbs to the pain and passes out. Because of this, his semblance shuts down, and the chaos finally ends as Khazhak catches Porphyrius' unconscious body in his arms. Lloyd and Reaper are able to get back on their feet and link up with them.

"Porphyrius, is he…?" Lloyd asks.

"Dead? No…but he'll be out for a while," Khazhak notes, and then looks around them.

Lloyd and Reaper do the same and see the carnage around them. Cracks in the village roads, homes crushed under the immense weight of gravity, and dead Grimm flattened to pancakes. Whatever parts of the village that hadn't been destroyed by the Grimm, were destroyed by Porphyrius going nuts.

"Khazhak, what was that?" Reaper asks as he looks back to his leader.

Khazhak looks down at Porphyrius, "The cost of losing control of one's emotions…" he says.

 _…Flashback ends…_

Porphyrius remembers that fateful day. How could he not? It was the first time he lost control of his semblance. And the same thing happened at Beacon. Because of that, he almost…killed Yang. Hadn't Lloyd have been there, then things would have been much worse.

Porphyrius sighs, "Never again. It must never happen again," he mutters.

"Porphyrius," he hears behind him and looks back to see Blake walking towards him. "It's getting late. You should get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow," she says.

Porphyrius grunts and stands back up, "I take it you found something off Ilia's scroll?" he asks.

"Plenty. We learned the identity of one White Fang member hiding out in town. Tomorrow, you, Sun, and I are going to track him down and apprehend him. The less members the White Fang has hiding out freely in Menagerie, the easier it will be for us," Blake says.

"And if your old friend Ilia gets in the way?" Porphyrius asks.

"We'll deal with that bridge when we cross it. For now, let's focus on what we can do," Blake replies.

Porphyrius just grunts in annoyance, "Fine, we'll do it your way…for now. Just know Blake, my mission is to keep you alive and get you to Haven. And I will do whatever it takes to complete that mission. You want Ilia to live, that's your choice. However…" Porphyrius begins as he walks to stand next to Blake. "If she forces me to…I won't hesitate. She may be an old friend to you, but as far as I'm concerned, she's an enemy to me. And when I fight an enemy…that fight goes until only one of us walks away," he says before leaving.

 _"Hopefully we can get this settled soon. I can't wait around forever. Khazhak…Yang…Hold out for just a little longer."_

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 **And that's the chapter. Now we know more about the first time Porphyrius lost control of his semblance, and see how far he's come now. All that's left is Lloyd's character short in the next chapter and then we can really get into volume 5. How will that turn out? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	72. Chapter 67: Lloyd Character Short

**Here we are at Chapter 67. This is Lloyd's character short, and then it's time for volume 5. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 67. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 67: Lloyd Character Short**

… _A few months before Khazhak's group came to Vale…_

In a village not too far from the west coast of the continent of Anime, Lloyd Jyousai sits on a bed in an inn room, hands clasped together, and head lowered down. Standing before him, Porphyrius and Reaper have their arms crossed, and with angry looks in their eyes (at least, you can see the look in Porphyrius' eye, Reaper not so much).

"Do you have any idea how stupid that was with what you did?" Porphyrius asks, not in a pleasant mood.

However, Lloyd makes to response.

"You put not only yourself, but also Khazhak and everyone else in jeopardy with that stupid bravado stunt you pulled. You should've listened to Khazhak when he said to stop. You almost got him killed," Reaper adds.

Again, Lloyd makes no response, and just looks at the floor like it's the most interesting thing in the world. While his mouth makes no movement, his mind is going a mile a minute to what has just transpired.

 _…A while earlier…_

The group have just cut down another group of Grimm outside a village it has been terrorizing for some time. Khazhak and his group met with the people in the village, and agreed to take them out in exchange for food and lodging. Currently, Khazhak stabs his sword through one Ursa, and then fires off the gun barrel at a Creep that was behind it, killing both of them. He pulls back his blade and then charges up his semblance.

"LIGHTNING SLASH!" he yells as he swings his sword down, sending out a wave of lighting that takes out another Ursa.

From the smoke, Lloyd emerges, wearing a cocky grin as he claws his way through Beowolf after Beowolf. He then activates his semblance around his right arm, reels it back, and then smashes it into the ground, sending out a shockwave that blows but a few other Grimm.

"Man this is too easy," Lloyd says and then notices the remaining Grimm begin to retreat.

"They're on the run. Let's regroup before we go after them," Khazhak says.

"Why should we do that? We have them on the ropes. Let's go finish them off!" Lloyd says and goes after them.

"Lloyd, stop! That's an order!" Don't rush into things!" Khazhak yells out.

But Lloyd doesn't listen and continues deeper into the forest after the Grimm. He runs after them for a few moment, before he catches up to them, only to have the idea that maybe he should've waited for the others. Standing before him is a much large pack of Beowolves, led by an Alpha Beowolf. Lloyd gets his claws ready and fires off some shots at the Grimm. The shots takes out a few, but the rest come charging at Lloyd. Lloyd activates his semblance, encasing his whole body in his steel skin armor. The armor protects him from their claws, giving him the chance to grab the neck of one Grimm, crush it, and then throw it into another. Next, he punches threw the chest of one, rips his right arm out, and then deals a powerful front kick to another. He then uses his claws to shred through several more Beowolves, slicing through one after another. During the melee, he knees one Grimm in the chest, forcing it onto the ground, and then smashes his right foot down on its skull, crushing it. It is only after this that he notices the Alpha Beowolf had remained behind the other Grimm throughout the exchange. They are older and smarter, so it won't just charge in recklessly. Lloyd swipes two Beowolves away before running at the alpha. The Alpha waits for him to get close, and then swings its right claw at him. Lloyd blocks the strike with his left claw and then stabs his right claw into the alpha's chest. He picks it up and slams it into the ground. Raising his right fist, he smashes it into the alpha's skull, leaving a small crater in the ground.

"And that should do it," Lloyd mutters as he deactivates his semblance.

However, a sudden strike from behind staggers him. He looks back to see a second Alpha Beowolf, along with several more Beowolves. The Grimm attack from different angles. Lloyd is able to hold off most of them, but the alpha gets a few more strikes in when his focus is somewhere else, and his overuse of his semblance combined with that to reduce it to the red zone. By the time the attack is over, Lloyd is breathing heavily, exhausted, while only the alpha remains.

"Damnit," Lloyd mutters.

The alpha makes one final attack, and Lloyd closes his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. However, when the attack doesn't connect, he opens his eyes…only to widen them in shock. In front of him, Khazhak stands with his back to the Grimm, using his own body as a shield to protect Lloyd.

"Khazhak!" Lloyd yells.

Khazhak grits his teeth in pain, his aura already gotten low from the previous battle. The alpha goes for another attack, but then Porphyrius and Reaper appear, using their blades to slice off the Grimm's arms, followed by its head. With the threat dealt with, the three turn their attention to Khazhak, who shows large claw marks on his back, him seething in pain.

"Khazhak! Hang in there, bro!" Lloyd yells.

Reapers hoists Khazhak's right arm around his shoulders, "Come, there's a doctor in the village. We'll get help there," he says and the group quickly return to the village.

… _A little while later…_

After returning to the village, the group got Khazhak to the doctor and he began treating his wounds. They weren't too life threatening, but they could be if allowed to become infected. While Khazhak was being treated, Lloyd had gotten chewed out by both Reaper and Porphyrius, and was then left alone to his thoughts. All he could think about was that if he had only listened to Khazhak, he wouldn't be in this situation right now. A while later, Reaper and Porphyrius return.

Lloyd stands and turns to them, "How is he?" he asks.

"He'll live. He's survived worse than this. We're just lucky the village had a doctor that could help us. He's already back up…and he wants to see you," Reaper says.

"Don't keep him waiting," Porphyrius adds.

Lloyd makes his way out of the room and walks out of the inn, making his way to the local doctor's office. Once inside, he goes to the room holding Khazhak. Opening the door, he sees Khazhak standing in front of the room window, arms crossed, and his shirt and jacket removed. There are several long bandages across his back and torso. Khazhak doesn't look back at him.

"How are you feeling, Khazhak?" Lloyd asks.

"A stupid question, don't you think? You disobeyed my orders," Khazhak says, still not looking back at him. "The moment we start acting on our own like the way you did, we put ourselves and others in danger. That's NOT how we do things Lloyd," Khazhak says.

"I know…I'm sorry," Lloyd says, looking down in shame.

"Don't apologize. God knows I've made the same mistake. But I learned from it, and I learned never to make the same mistake again. A mistake you too, must now learn from, and ensure that you never make it again," Khazhak says.

Lloyd raises his head, "I won't. I promise you," he says.

"Actions speak louder than words, Lloyd. Prove it to me, not with words, but with actions," Khazhak says, still not looking back at Lloyd.

Lloyd thinks for a moment before getting a determined look in his eye. He walks up to Khazhak…and then kneels before him.

"Brother…" he begins. This actually gets Khazhak's attention and he looks back at Lloyd. "I swear from this point on to always fight by your side. To follow your orders and walk the path you walk upon. From this day forth, I will fight beside you…as your sworn brother," he swears his oath of brotherhood to Khazhak.

If Khazhak was surprised by this, he didn't show it. He then fully turns to face Lloyd.

"…Very well. Do as you wish," Khazhak says before he leaves the room.

Lloyd bows his head as he leaves, "By your will…Brother…"

 _…Flashback ends…_

In the present, Lloyd, in his new outfit, thinks about the past while riding with Yang on her motorcycle, Bumblebee. They are currently in Anima, on their way to find Ruby and Khazhak.

"Hey, did you hear me?" Yang calls out.

Lloyd shakes his head out of his stupor, "Huh? What?" he asks.

"I said, we'll be coming up to a local village soon. We'll stop there for food, and see if anyone has seen Ruby and Khazhak," Yang says.

"R-right. Sounds good," Lloyd replies. _"I'm on my way…Brother…"_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Now we know how Lloyd came to start calling Khazhak 'brother'. That's it for the character shorts. Now the real story can get underway. Will Khazhak and his teammates be ready for what awaits them in Mistral? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	73. Chapter 68: The Purple Swan

**Here we are at Chapter 68. Time for Volume 5 of my RWBY KEPL story. Been watching RWBY volume 6, and now we know the truth. Now we know how this all got started. Anyway, time to see Khazhak, Ruby, and the others continue their journey in Mistral. Also as a little surprise, I'll be bringing in a new OC into the story, though they won't have that big of a role since this new OC isn't a warrior. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 68. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 68: The Purple Swan**

 _…In Mistral…_

A few days have passed since Khazhak and Ruby's group finally made it to Mistral. It has been a harrowing journey, but they reached their goal. Now, time to move on to the next step. They decided to rest for a few days in order to allow Qrow and Khazhak time to rest and recover from their near death experiences. As for getting a place to stay, strangely Voshkie'ahk got a place for them set up when they arrived. They were a little confused by this, but weren't complaining about the nice accommodations. At their little hideout, Ruby is seen walking out of her room, stretching her arms with a bit of a yawn in the morning.

"Good morning Ruby," she hears and looks over to see Ren and Nora walking towards her. "Nice day, huh?" Nora asks.

"Yeah, it was nice to relax a bit for a few days. But now, it's time to head for Haven Academy and talk to the headmaster," Ruby says.

"Your uncle okay for the trip? And what about Khazhak?" Ren asks.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" they hear and look back to see Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk walking to them, with Khazhak looking much better now. "Don't count me out just yet," Khazhak notes.

"Good morning Khazhak. How are you feeling?" Ruby asks.

"Much better, Ruby. I've fully recovered from using the Dragon Spirit. I'm ready to go," Khazhak notes.

 **"To think you would sleep for three days before recovering. I figured someone with your will would've fully recovered much sooner,"** Bahamut notes.

 **"Now, now, brother. Humans aren't as strong as you think they are. Besides, he was forced to exert his strength again after using your power. It put too much strain on his body. He needed to rest,"** Tiamat says within Voshkie'ahk.

"It doesn't matter now. Khazhak's back on his feet, and so is Master Qrow. He's waiting for us downstairs, and is wanting to get to Haven as soon as possible," Voshkie'ahk states.

"Well, better not keep him waiting," Ruby says. The group walk downstairs to find Qrow, along with Jaune, waiting for them in the kitchen. "Good morning guys," Ruby greets them.

"Hey, Ruby. Khazhak, you doing okay?" Jaune asks

"I'm fine. I'm not a pansy like you. I can take pounding," Khazhak replies, making Jaune groan a bit. "Anyway, we all set to go?" he asks Qrow.

"Yeah, let's just get going now. I don't want to stick around for too long," Qrow says.

"Why is that?" Ruby asks.

"Because of who owns this place," Qrow motions to their house.

"What do you mean? Wait, Voshkie'ahk, you got us this place. Do you own it?" Ruby asks.

"Oh no, a close friend of mine owns it, but she's lending it to us for the time being…Wait, Master Qrow, you're not trying to leave because of her, are you?" Voshkie'ahk asks accusingly.

"Who's 'her' exactly?" Jaune asks.

"An annoying little piece of-," Qrow begins.

"Voshkie'ahk! Are you there?!" they hear a female voice call out, making Qrow groan while Voshkie'ahk smiles brightly.

"Speak of the devil, and she shall appear," Qrow mutters distastefully.

"She's here!" Voshkie'ahk cheers.

"Who's she?" Khazhak asks, and suddenly Voshkie'ahk's face turns really pale and her eyes widen in horror.

 _"Oh crap! I completely forgot to tell Khazhak about her. And given her personality…Khazhak's gonna KILL her as soon as she does something!"_ Voshkie'ahk thinks.

"Ah, there you are, Voshkie darling," they hear and look to see a beautiful young woman walking towards them. The woman appears to be a year older than Khazhak, with long black hair with purple streaks tied into a ponytail. She has vibrant red eyes and a fair complexion. She is wearing an elegant purple and white dress that reaches down to her ankles. The dress has two shades of purple, with the lighter half on the skirt, and the darker half wrapping around her body. White mixes in with the purple shades across the skirt. The dress comes up to her chest, showing a little cleavage, and has a white fur collar that moves over her shoulders and lays over the top of her back. A pair of detached purple kimono sleeves with white strings on the ends go with the dress, and are backed by a translucent purple shawl wrap that's wrapped around her elbows. Finally, she is wearing a pair of purple high-heeled shoes and an embroidered necklace with the symbol of a purple swan at the center. "I've been looking all over for you," the woman says as she walks towards them.

"Y-Yukari, what are you doing here?" Voshkie'ahk stutters.

"Now, now, that's not how you greet someone like me, darling. Especially after we haven't seen each other in so long. This is how you do it," the girl, named Yukari apparently, says as she walks over, wraps one arm around Voshkie'ahk's waste…and plants a kiss on her lips. "Ah that's better," Yukari says, leaving a blushing Voshkie'ahk, and a shocked expression for everyone else, except for Qrow. However, Once Yukari turns to Qrow, her expression quickly turns ice cold and she stares subtle daggers at him. "Oh… 'IT'S' still alive…" she mutters coldly.

"A displeasure to see you again, too, Yukari," Qrow 'greets' her, showing his own icy glare towards her.

"Voshkie darling, why did you have to bring THAT here with you?!" Yukari asks Voshkie'ahk, gesturing to Qrow who growls a bit.

"Well, he is my master. And we're here on a mission, so…" Voshkie'ahk trails off as she glances towards her brother, whose left fist is clenched and shaking a bit.

"Oh please, we're not here to sight see. We're here on official huntsmen business, and we don't have time to play with little girls like you," Qrow retorts.

"Ha, figures you wouldn't understand the feelings of a maiden, you drunk, old slob. No wonder Voshkie'ahk was such a mess when I first found her with you. If I didn't come in and save her, who knows how she would've turned out," Yukari counters as she starts to get into Qrow's face.

"She would've been fine, which is more than I can say for you right now," Qrow warns her as he gets closer to her face.

"Oh, and what are you going to do? Kill me with your alcohol breath. That stuff is vile-," Yukari retorts.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, pump the breaks. Who the Hell are you again?" Khazhak stops them, his patience waning.

The two step back, "My name is Yukari Hakucho, and I am Voshkie'ahk's girlfriend," Yukari introduces herself, while a blushing Voshkie'ahk covers her face in her hands.

Everyone else aside from Qrow is shocked by this revelation. Khazhak most of all, who just slowly turns to his sister, who looks halfway between embarrassed and scared for her life. Khazhak says nothing and just walks away for a moment, only for the others to hear some crashing sounds somewhere within the house. A moment later, Khazhak returns, looking a little calmer.

"Sorry about that. You should know that there are a few holes in the wall down the hall. Voshkie'ahk, may I talk to you in private?" Khazhak says, leaving no room for discussion. Before the others can say anything, the two siblings leave and go down the hall, allowing Voshkie'ahk to see a few large holes left in the wall. Soon enough, they stop and face each other. "So, is it true? Are you two in a relationship?" Khazhak calmly asks.

Voshkie'ahk sighs, "Yes…It's been going on for a while now. We don't see each other much because we each have our own work to attend to, but we both are okay with that. At first I didn't understand what was happening to me, but then I realized that I always paid more attention to girls than I did to boys. She helped me figure out the rest," she explains.

Khazhak crosses his arms, "And…how do you feel about her?" he asks.

"I…I really like her. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say I love her, but I really care about her, and she really cares about me. Before I met her, let's just say I was more of a tomboy than what I am like now, due to Master Qrow's influence. She helped me bring out my feminine side, and she even helps design my clothes. She's a really nice person, brother. Sure, she has her quirks, but that's just part of her charm. My heart…it's always a flutter when I'm near her," Voshkie'ahk says.

The silence that comes after that only makes Voshkie'ahk more nervous as she waits for Khazhak to voice his disapproval. However, Khazhak eventually sighs and reaches out to her. Voshkie'ahk closes her eyes, expecting him to hit her, only for him to gently place his right hand on her head, petting it. Voshkie'ahk looks up in mild surprise to see Khazhak;s face.

"…If you're that sure about her, then alright," Khazhak says.

"Wait…you're not mad?' Voshkie'ahk slowly asks.

"Only that you didn't tell me about this sooner. Voshkie, I haven't been a part of your life in about six years. I really don't have much of a say in who you date. Now, had it been a guy, I'd have knocked his lights out already, but with your significant other being a girl, that actually makes me feel a little easier. As long as she treats you right, then she's okay by me," Khazhak says, smiling a bit.

Voshkie'ahk smiles and wraps her arms around her brother in a big hug, "Thank you, Khazhak! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cheers as the two siblings hug each other.

After settling that, the two siblings return to the others, and notice Voshkie'ahk looking much happier.

"Someone looks happier now," Nora notes.

"Yeah, turns out I was nervous for nothing," Voshkie'ahk says, then turns to Yukari. "Yukari, allow me to introduce my older brother, Khazhak Rairyu," Voshkie'ahk gestures to her brother.

Now Yukari is surprised, "Wait…I thought you said your brother was dead?" she asks.

"I thought so too, but I reunited with him back at Beacon. You can't imagine how happy I was back then. My parents may be gone, but at least I still have him…and you, of course," Voshkie'ahk states.

Yukari takes this new information in before walking up to Khazhak. The two have a stare down for a moment, making the others a little nervous. Yukari then looks Khazhak up and down before smirking.

"Yeah, I suppose you'll do. I can see some similarities between you and my precious Voshkie. Thanks for not dying on her," Yukari says, making Khazhak raise an eyebrow in confusion.

 **"Humans can be so confusing sometimes,"** Bahamut notes.

 **"I'm sure they would say the same for us, brother,"** Tiamat adds.

"So, exactly how did you two meet?" Khazhak asks.

"It was well over a year ago when your sister and this walking beer barrel-," Yukari begins, pointing a thumb at Qrow at the last comment. "-were doing business here in Mistral. She looked a lot different back then, mostly because she wore clothes that suited boys more than girls, also because of Qrow," Yukari says, glaring at Qrow who glares back. "I couldn't allow that to continue, so when I had the chance, I came and talked to her and managed to convince her to come with me for a change of clothes," Yukari explains.

"More like forced me when you pulled my arm to the nearest clothing store without giving me any say in the matter," Voshkie'ahk deadpans.

"Anyway, I helped her into some proper clothes, and it was then that I realized how beautiful she looked, and that I just had to claim her for myself. I helped her reconnect with her more feminine side, and designed her clothes for her. From then one, we saw each other more and we started dating basically. Whenever we were in the same kingdom, we'd make time to see each other, and have been for a while. Recently, I've been working here in Mistral…and then the Fall of Beacon happened. I was worried about Voshkie, but I had faith that she'd be alright. And I'm happy to see that faith was not misplaced," Yukari explains as she smiles at Voshkie'ahk.

"Yeah, not to mention being a huge pain in my butt along the way," Qrow retorts.

"I'm only protecting my dear Voshkie because you're a terrible influence. Any longer without my aid, and she would've become a hopeless drunk like you," Yukari counters.

Voshkie'ahk covers her face in her hands, "Please don't remind me. I still feel embarrassed when I think back to how I used to be before I met Yukari," she mutters, embarrassed.

The others then picture in their head what Voshkie'ahk looked like back then, and come up with basically a mix of Voshkie'ahk and a younger Qrow, and drunk, before shivering a bit at the image. It is then that Jaune has an epiphany.

"Wait a minute, I recognize you now. You're Yukari Hakucho, the one they call 'The Swan of Style'! You're the youngest fashion designer in the history of Remnant!" Jaune practically squeals.

"Oh, a fan, aren't we. Thanks, but I'm not doing autographs right now," Yukari jokes.

Khazhak raises an eyebrow at Jaune, "And how do you know that?" he asks.

Jaune gets nervous, "Oh, um, well, my sisters would never stop talking about her at times, and I'd get roped into it without a say in the matter. You end up picking up a few things, whether you like it or not," he says, rubbing his head.

Nora smirks, "…He had one of her magazines under his bed back at Beacon," she rats him out.

"NORA! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!" Jaune cries.

Khazhak deadpans at him, "That explains a lot," he mutters.

"You know, I could help you out with some new clothes, if you like. A friend of Voshkie's is a friend of mine, and I could do even more for her brother," Yukari offers.

"Um, thanks Yukari, but I think we're good for now. Being a huntsmen or a huntress doesn't really allow for flashy, fancy clothes when you're fighting Grimm," Ruby politely declines.

"Oh don't worry, I've helped create some practical clothes for huntsmen as well. I'm sure I can find something for you. That cloak of yours is pretty damaged from your travels," Yukari points out.

Ruby holds onto her cloak, "No one touches my cloak…It's really special to me," she says.

At seeing her expression and tone, Yukari backs off, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overstep. Very well, I'll back off for now. So, how long will you all be staying in Mistral?" she asks.

"We'll be staying for a little while. Not sure how long exactly, but it's on official huntsmen business," Ren explains.

"Business that doesn't include you," Qrow butts in.

Yukari glares at him, "You are not my father. I may not be a warrior like my darling here, but I won't be bullied by an old drunk who has the fashion sense of decrepit toad. As long as Voshkie'ahk is here, then so shall I," Yukari retorts.

"Have you forgotten that you're some kind of celebrity? We don't need annoying stalkers and paparazzi snooping around, looking for some dirt on us," Qrow states.

"Well, for better or worse, they're more focused on what's going on in Vale…I'm sorry about what happened. I was watching the Vytal Festival, and saw the chaos that occurred. Even I could tell that something didn't feel right about the whole thing. The Vytal Festival is supposed to be about peace, instead it became a war zone. No one should have to go through that," Yukari says.

"Thank you, Yukari. There's a lot of stuff going on right now, some things we can't really talk about, but know that we're here to figure out what's going on, and put a stop to it," Ruby says.

"Of course, I understand. You are welcome to stay here as long as you like. Luckily, there are plenty of guest rooms here. I'll be in town on some business, but I'll be around in case you need anything. I've been having my people send some relief efforts to Vale to help with the reconstruction of the kingdom. Vale my not be my home, but that doesn't mean I don't care about it. I'll what I can to help you through my own efforts," Yukari says.

"Thanks Yukari," Ruby replies, and Yukari nods.

Yukari then cups Voshkie'ahk's chin in her right hand and pulls her a little closer.

"I'll also made sure that your room is right next to mine in case you ever want to visit…at any time of the day or night," she says seductively, making Voshkie'ahk blush.

"Ahem," Khazhak fake coughs.

Yukari retreats from Voshkie'ahk, "Oh, I'm just teasing her. It's one of my greatest joys in life," she says.

"Well, first, keep it PG. Second, do it when we're not around and make a spectacle of it," Khazhak says.

Yukari sighs, "Fine, fine. I'll back off…for now anyway," she says.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, can we go now? We still gotta go and meet with the Headmaster at Haven. Today, please," Qrow complains.

"Alright, we're going Uncle Qrow. Anyway, it was nice meeting you, Yukari. We'll see you when we get back," Ruby says.

"Of course, I'll be waiting," Yukari says.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A little short, but oh well. Now we have a new character entering the mix, though not too much. At the end of the day, it's my story and what I say goes. The real volume 5 will begin in the next chapter. Khazhak, Ruby, and their group begin their mission in Mistral, but what awaits them from there? And what about their teammates? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	74. Chapter 69: Welcome to Haven

**Here we are at Chapter 69. Time to see Khazhak and the others meet Lionheart, and see how that meeting goes. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 69. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 69. Welcome to Haven**

… _Khazhak's group in Mistral…_

After leaving Yukari's house, the group make their way through the kingdom, following Qrow as he takes them down a route through a tunnel, with the only sources of light being lit lanterns along the stone walls.

"The city of Mistral…" Qrow Branwen says.

"Ugh, it's about time!" Nora Valkyrie groans. "WHOSE idea was it to walk again?" she asks.

"Quit your crying. Just be glad we actually made it to Mistral. Or have you forgotten all the crap we went through to get here," Khazhak notes.

"Oh, you mean, all those people and monsters that tried to MURDER us," Jaune adds.

"Pfft, we were fine. Only two of us almost died," Ruby says, gesturing to Qrow and Khazhak.

"Again, I don't plan on dying anytime soon. Can't say the same for the old man here," Khazhak notes, taking a jab at Qrow.

"Hey," Qrow retorts.

"We all made it to Mistral alive. That's all that matters. Now we can move on to the next step," Voshkie'ahk says.

"Yes, to speak with the headmaster of Haven Academy," Khazhak says.

"Speaking of which, how much farther to Haven Academy?" Jaune asks.

Qrow glances back at him, "Almost there. But I figured I'd take you kids on the scenic route," he says.

The group then reach a large pair of wooden double doors. Qrow and Khazhak open one each, filling the tunnel with sunlight. It is then that Ruby runs out onto a massive platform that doubles as an elevator. She stops at the railing to gaze in awe with wide eyes at the city before her.

"Wow!" she gasps as the others join her. "This…is…awesome!" she yells in excitement.

They all gaze out into the city, seeing all the people and all the vendors and buildings in the shopping district of the city.

"It's certainly something," Qrow notes.

"Mistral hasn't changed much since I last came here," Khazhak notes as he crosses his arms.

 **"Hmpf. Making a city along a mountain side. Seems doable for you humans, though my kind had been able to make homes deep inside mountains during my time,"** Bahamut says in Khazhak's mind.

Ruby then gasps, "Oh my gosh, look at all the weapons!" she cheers at seeing a kiosk selling weapons.

"Here in Mistral, you can find almost anything up for grabs…both legally and illegally," Voshkie'ahk notes.

 **"A sad, but true fact, my child,"** Tiamat notes.

"They really made the most out of these mountains," Jaune says.

"Well, there's not much safe territory on flat land on Anima, so their only option was to make a city along the side of the mountains. This would grant them access to several commodities needed to keep the kingdom going," Khazhak explains.

"Yep, they used every inch. Stay away from the lower levels, though. The higher you go, the nicer it gets," Qrow says.

"And WE are going up!" Nora says as she points her right index finger up high.

After taking a route that leads them up, Ruby and her group eventually find and enter the campus grounds of Haven Academy. All the buildings look East Asian in design, with wooden walls, East Asian windows, gray, curved rooftops. The Haven tower can be seen behind a few of these buildings, with four wooden legs on its sides that keep it upright. The group enter a courtyard, with a paved circle in the center with four walkways, followed by four lampposts around the circle. Each walkway leads to a different building. Ruby walks in front of the group, and wipes a tear from her eye as she smiles.

Ruby sighs, "We made it," she says.

Khazhak stands next to her and places his right hand on her shoulder, "Yes we did," he says as the teens stand side by side.

Qrow walks up behind them, and glances around, feeling that something is wrong.

Voshkie'ahk returns to his side, "Master Qrow, what is it?" she asks.

"I don't know. Something doesn't feel right," he mutters.

The group enter the building that contains the headmaster's office, with Qrow in front, and walk down a hallway with red carpet with gold edging. They pass by a few wooden doors, but see no one around.

"Hello?" Ruby calls out, but gets no answer, while Khazhk narrows his eyes as he glances around behind her. "HELLO?!" she calls out again, but louder.

Nora walks up to her, "Maybe try…LOUDER?" she suggests with a wave of her right hand.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone here," Ren notes.

"Feels like a ghost town to me," Khazhak adds.

 **"For a huntsmen academy, there seems to be a clear lack of huntsmen around,"** Bahamut states.

"Well, I guess school really isn't in session right now. Maybe that's it," Jaune says.

Qrow glances around, "No, this isn't right. Come on," he says and starts running down the hallway.

"Wait for us!" Ruby yells and they run after him.

They eventually stop at a set of wooden double doors. There are a few desks at their sides, along with various other furniture. On the large rug behind them is the symbol for Haven Academy. Qrow draws his sword, holding it in a reverse grip. This prompts the others to take out their weapons as well.

"Get ready. There could be trouble," Qrow says.

Qrow narrows his eyes before he lifts up his right leg, and kicks the doors open, revealing an older Faunus on the other side. The Faunus is a middle-aged man with a mane of tan/gray hair and a beard. He has a tanned complexion with brown eyebrows and dark brown eyes. He is wearing a brown great coat with a matching mantle, which has cross emblems on each side. He is also wearing a white dress shirt under his coat, a western neck tie and carried a pocket watch. He also has on dark brown slacks and dress shoes. The man widens his eyes, throws his arms up, and screams loudly. Jaune, Ruby, and Nora scream as well, while Khazhak, Voshkie'ahk, and Ren give off a confused stare. Standing on one foot with his eyes wide, Qrow looks down, loses his balance, and falls onto the floor. After that, the older man makes a slight gasp, and then faints. The teens lower their weapons, dumbfounded, while Qrow sits up.

"Is…he dead?" Khazhak asks.

"Uh…Professor Lionheart?" Ruby asks.

The man gasps and sits up, "Qrow! For crying out loud, you nearly scared me half to death!" he yells, holding his chest.

Qrow stands up with a growl, "ME? Why weren't you waiting for us at the entrance?" he asks.

"Huh?" The man asks before pulling out a pocket watch from his coat to check it. "Oh, right. Apologies. I guess time slipped away from me," he says.

"You're joking," Qrow replies.

The teens put away their weapons while the man stands up.

"Where is everybody?" Nora asks.

"Yes, even if school isn't in session right now, there should be at least a few people here," Voshkie'ahk notes.

"Ah, you must be the students Qrow mentioned," the man says.

"Yes, sir," Ruby says and gives him a salute. "Ruby Rose," she introduces herself.

"Jaune Arc," Jaune says, holding one hand on the end of the handle of his sword.

"Nora Valkyrie," then Nora with her arms out to the sides.

"Lie Ren," then Ren with his hands behind his back.

"Voshkie'ahk Ryukado," Voshkie'ahk gives a slight bow.

"Khazhak Rairyu," Khazhak says while crossing his arms.

The man chuckles. "Heh-heh, a pleasure to meet you all. Leonardo Lionheart, at your service. I'm afraid most of my staff is currently away until classes resume, but-," the man, now known as Lionheart begins.

Qrow clenches his fists and leans in, "WHAT? Leo, you can't be serious. Who's guarding the Relic?" Qrow asks.

Lionheart looks a little surprised as he glances at the kids, "Qrow, the children," he says.

"Already know. I filled them in. What do you mean your staff is away?" Qrow asks.

Lionheart lets the information sink in before he speaks, "…You…filled them in?" he asks as his left hand comes up to his beard and he glances to the right.

"Looks like we need to have a serious talk, Professor," Khazhak says.

…

The group are now in Lionheart's office, going over the current situation and Ruby's group's journey to Haven. The office is shaped as a half-circle, with another, smaller half-circle jutting out to the room's front door. A large desk made of mahogany dominates the space of the autumn-colored office. In the right-hand corner, for a more comfortable setting, are a small table and chairs for guests. On the table is a tea set Ozpin gifted Lionheart. Tall bookshelves flank the front door. Spanning the far wall of the office and above the windows is a single shelf lined with books, boxes and lamps. Ladders are present to provide access to the high shelves. Much of the floor is open, and a large, rectangular green rug leads from the door to the desk. There are many boxes, books and papers scattered about the floor. The ceiling is slanted, declining from the front to the rear of the room. In the center of the ceiling is a chandelier of four lights with square shaped shades. Lionheart sits in his chair behind the desk, while Qrow stands in front of the desk, with Jaune, Ruby, Voshkie'ahk, Khazhak standing behind him. Ren and Nora sit on the guest couch.

"I have to say, Qrow, this all seems very reckless, even for you," Lionheart says.

"No reckless is leaving one of the relics completely unguarded. It's not checking in with Oz for ages!" Qrow retorts, a little angry, with his arms crossed.

"There was NOTHING to check in ABOUT before the Fall of Beacon, but since that day, Mistral has been in chaos!" Lionheart says as he stands up, fists clenched, and then moves his hands behind his back. "Vale wasn't the only kingdom to suffer that night. Everyone was watching. Every house in every kingdom saw that poor girl ripped to pieces," Lionheart says, making Ruby look away, upset, at the mention of her fallen friend, Penny. "Monsters crawling all over the city, Atlesian knights attacking citizens…" he continues as Jaune grimaces and Voshkie'ahk looks away in sadness, while Khazhak clenches his fists. "…and then nothing. You could feel the dread in the air. With all that negativity, you can imagine what it was like when the Grimm came for us," Lionheart continues as he walks up to a window, looking outside. "Mistral's territory is the widest reaching in the world, and that makes it infinitely harder to protect. We lost so many great huntsmen, teachers from this very institution. And it's only gotten worse," Lionheart explains.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asks as she steps forward.

Lionheart leans on the windowsill, "We may have dealt with the Grimm, but the Mistral's council's still at odds with representatives from Atlas. First, it was the Dust embargo, now it's the closing of borders," Lionheart says.

Khazhak grunts, "Hmpf. Sounds like Ironwood's making even more mistakes now. That's nothing new," he says. _"I hope that doesn't affect Reaper's mission."_

Lionheart turns to face Qrow, "I'm not sure what happened to James in Vale, but it seems to have only worsened some of his more unfortunate tendencies. *Sigh* And, on top of everything, we still don't know where the Spring Maiden is," he says.

"All the more reason we need to huntsmen and huntresses here!" Qrow says.

Ruby moves closer to the two, "Okay! Okay. Things are bad; they're BAD. But we can figure this out. Why is the Spring Maiden so important?" she asks.

Lionheart looks at Qrow, "I thought you filled them in," he says.

"MOSTLY filled in. Look, there's a lot to cover, okay? I quit teaching for a reason," Qrow says while taking out his flask for a drink.

Lionheart sits back down in his seat, rest his head in his right hand, "The four Maidens each have the power to perform feats of magic, and THEY are the only ones capable of reaching the Relics," he explains.

"What do you mean?" Khazhak asks.

"The Relics are each locked inside a chamber that can only be opened by a specific Maiden. Winter for the gift of Creation, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice and Spring for Knowledge…" Qrow explains before taking another drink. "…Spring is the problem."

"What happened to her?" Ren asks from his seat.

Qrow and Lionneart look at him for a moment, then look down slightly.

"She was determined, at first, when she inherited her powers, but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child. She…ran. Abandoned her training, everyone. That was over a decade ago. There's no telling where she could be now," Lionheart explains.

"I…know. At least…I have a pretty good idea," Qrow says, having put his flask away.

Lionheart widens his eyes and stands up, "Are you serious?" he asks.

"It's not exactly good news," Qrow replies.

Lionheart walks around his desk to move to Qrow, "What are you talking about? This is incredible news!" he says, taking Qrow by the shoulders and shaking him. "After all these years! Where?!" he asks, excited.

Qrow shoves him off, "I did some digging around. Looks like, after Spring ran away, she was picked up by bandits, specifically the Branwen tribe," Qrow admits.

"Raven…" Lionheart says, making Ruby gasp in surprise.

"Yang's mom?" Jaune asks.

Suddenly, they all jump up when they hear a loud bang and look behind them to see that Khazhak had smashed his left fist into the wall near the bookshelves. He rips it out, leaving a big hole.

"…Raven…" Khazhak mutters, his voice filled with subtle rage.

"…I…take it you know Raven Branwen," Lionheart says.

Khazhak glances at him, "We have a history. Let's just leave it at that," he says.

Ruby walks over to him and puts her hands on his right clenched fist. This calms him down as he takes a deep breath, and nods to her, a silent message that he's okay.

"Yeah, Raven, that's right," Qrow says and then moves to the desk, pulling out his scroll. He places it on Lionheart's desk, and then a hologram monitor comes up, showing a map of Remnant. Qrow zooms in on a section of Anima, "That's about where they've set up their main camp. It's where they fall back to after raids and scouting missions. Raven's managed to gain a lot of followers since she returned to the tribe, and I'm sure when the Spring Maiden showed up, it's only made things easier," Qrow explains.

Lionheart walks forward and pats Qrow on the back, "Well Qrow, I've got to hand it to you. With these coordinates, we can mount a retrieval force and head out in a few weeks," he says, and then walks over to the computer.

Qrow clenches his fists, "A few WEEKS?" he asks.

Lionheart pulls up a hologram keyboard and taps a few keys, while Qrow's scroll displays the text "Copying files", followed by "disconnected".

"That's right," Lionheart says as he walks back around behind his desk.

Qrow puts his hands on the desk, "Leo, maybe you didn't hear me. My sister has the Spring Maiden and I know where she is. We need to go as soon as possible!" he says, knocking a few books off the desk.

"Agreed. We can't afford to wait while Raven has the Spring Maiden. The longer we wait, the more innocent lives that are put at risk," Khazhak adds.

Lionheart gets a little angry, "And maybe you didn't hear ME. This kingdom is in shambles. 'As soon as possible' does not mean tomorrow. It means, as soon as I can convince the council that I need huntsmen more than they do. Unfortunately, bandit tribes aren't very high on their list of priorities when the threat of war is just on the horizon," he retorts.

"Then damn the council. We'll do it ourselves. You and I are trained huntsmen and these kids aren't exactly pushovers. Hell, Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk alone could take on the tribe by themselves when Raven and the Spring Maiden aren't added to the equation," Qrow notes.

"Yeah!" Nora cheers while Ruby fistpumps.

"Master Qrow is not wrong," Voshkie'ahk says.

Ren stands up, "Perhaps there's a more peaceful way to approach this?" he suggests.

"Forget it, Ren. If there's one thing I know about Raven, it's that she doesn't give a DAMN about peace," Khazhak counters.

"We need to get Spring as far away from here as possible. And Raven isn't going to give up her most prized possession without a fight," Qrow says.

"Unfortunately, you and your sister are evenly matched, and I'm not the fighter I used to be. No offense, but these students and I can't take on an entire bandit tribe and a Maiden that's no doubt had years to hone her skills-," Lionheart begins, until Khazhak slams his left fist onto his desk this time, cracking it.

"DON'T…underestimate us," Khazhak warns him before removing his left fist.

Lionheart takes a moment to reclaim himself, "Be that as it may, we still need to be positive that we can apprehend Spring, because if we fail, then Raven and her tribe will scatter. And we'll be lost. We get ONE shot at this. And it needs to be perfect," Lionheart argues.

Qrow leans back, arms crossed, and stares at him for a few seconds before sighing, "You know Oz wouldn't be happy with any of this if he were here," he notes.

"Perhaps you're right. But he's not. I'm doing the very best I can," Lionheart says.

 **"I doubt that,"** Bahamut notes, while Khazhak listens to him.

"There has to be something we can do," Ruby says.

"Let's not forget about Cinder Fall and her associates, Emerald and Mercury. They said they came from Mistral. Anything on them, professor?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"We pulled their files after the Fall of Beacon. Nothing but lies and forgeries," Lionheart replies.

At the mention of them, Jaune tightens his fists and glares at the floor, angry. Khazhak glances at him, knowing that Jaune still harbors a grudge against Cinder for killing their friend, Pyrrha Nikos.

"Well, I can't say this has been a warm reunion, Leo," Qrow notes.

"I'm sorry. I know you all traveled a long way. But I will do everything I can to help," Lionheart apologizes.

 _"Yeah, right,"_ Khazhak mentally notes, rolling his eyes.

"Sure. We'll stay in the city for the time being," Qrow begins as he takes out his scroll, wagging it around a bit. "Local comms are still up. Keep in touch. Come on, kids," Qrow says before turning and walking away.

The rest of the group begin following him, thought Ruby and Khazhak stop and turn to face Lionheart.

"It was nice meeting you, Professor," Ruby says.

"…Likewise…" Lionheart replies, and then Ruby leaves, but Khazhak stays a moment longer. "Is there anything else I can help you with, young man?" he asks.

Khazhak narrows his eyes, "…No…Apparently, you CANNOT," he says spitefully and then takes his leave, closing the door behind him.

 **"There's something he's not telling us,"** Bahamut notes.

"I know," Khazhak mutters back as he walks away.

"So, what do we do now?" Nora asks as the kids stop, with Qrow a few steps ahead.

Qrow stops, sighs, and turns to them, "You six head back to the house. I need a drink," he says and leaves.

While the others look on with concern, Khazhak just narrows his eyes at Qrow.

"Brother, is something wrong?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"I'll be back. I'll see you guys back at the house," Khazhak says before taking his leave as well.

… _Later that evening…_

Qrow is seen sitting alone at a bar, looking down at his glass, not drinking. A moment later, someone approaches him from behind.

"Excuse me?" he hears and turns around to see a young boy standing behind him.

The boy has a tanned complexion, freckles, and black hair. His eyes have central heterochromia, with green as the main color of the iris and a ring of yellow around the pupils. He is wearing a dirty white collared shirt that has a low v-neck, with crisscrossing laces across the gap in the neck. Over his shirt, he is wearing orange suspenders that hold up olive colored pants, with brown patches sewn onto the knees. The ends of his pant legs are somewhat covered by a pair of large, dark brown work boots. Around his neck is a small white scarf, and is wearing orange gloves with ark gray straps on them. A multicolored, striped scarf hangs from the left pocket of his pants.

"You know, I don't think they allow kids in here, pipsqueak," Qrow says.

"…Shut up I'm getting there," he says, looking at his left arm as it moves, with Qrow giving him a questioning look. "Um…I'm supposed to tell you…I'd like my cane back?" he says.

Qrow's eyes widen in surprise for a moment before he starts nodding as he smiles. He stands up, holding Ozpin's cane in its compact form, which is just the handle part of it.

Qrow looks at the cane, "Hm. It's good to see you again, Oz," he says and then tosses the cane to the boy.

The boycatches it with his right hand and presses a button on the hilt, extending the baton part of the cane. He grasps the baton with his left hand, surprised, before looking up at Qrow with a determined face.

"So that's how it is, huh," they hear behind them and both look back to see Khazhak walking up to them. Khazhak narrows his eyes at the boy, "We have much to discuss…Ozpin…" he says…and then activates his left arm blade…

… _Later that evening, back at the house…_

The rest of the group, minus Qrow and Khazhak, already returned to the house they're staying at. Currently, Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Voshkie'ahk are in the living room, while Ruby is in one of the bedrooms. The living room has two red couches, with Ren and Nora sitting on one, while Jaune sits on another, a red chair like the couches in between them, with Voshkie'ahk sitting on that one. A large wooden table on a white and brown carpet sit in front of them. There are two desks on the far sides of the couches, each with a drawer and a lit lamp. Behind Jaune, is a stair case leading up to the second floor, as well as the pathway to the kitchen. Behind Ren and Nora is a glassed off area with a few trees inside.

"So, where did Khazhak go?" Nora asks.

"He'll be back, don't worry. My brother can take care of himself," Voshkie'ahk says, not worried.

"Of that, we have no doubt. So where did Yukari go?" Ren asks.

"She had some business to take care off. Says she'll be back later tonight. She'll be fine," Voshkie'ahk states.

Just then, there's a knock at the front wooden double doors. The group tense up and look at each other before Jaune gets up and goes to open it. When he opens the left door, he finds the young boy from earlier standing on the other side. Jaune looks back over his shoulder to the others, seeing Nora shrug, and then faces the boy again.

"Can I…help you?" Jaune tentatively asks.

"Um…yeah. Is there a Ruby Rose here?" the boy asks.

The other three immediately tense up and stand, getting defensive.

"Why?" Nora asks darkly.

"Well…" he begins.

But then, the other door gets kicked open, showing Khazhak on the other side, looking annoyed…and carrying a VERY drunk Qrow on his right shoulder with his right arm.

"I found him!" Qrow drunkenly shouts with joy as he flails around a bit while Khazhak is still carrying him, making Khazhak groan.

"I think her uncle could use some help," the boy says as Khazhak walks inside while still carrying Qrow.

Khazhak walks in and drops Qrow onto the couch that Jaune was using.

"Whoa. Ugh. I found him," Qrow says, still drunk.

"How the Hell did I end up as your babysitter. Kids are one thing, but this…Ugh. Voshkie'ahk, how the HELL is this DRUNK your master?!" Khazhak asks his sister.

Voshkie'ahk hangs her head in her right hand, shaking it, "Believe me, I'm starting to wonder about that myself," she says exhaustedly.

"What is going ON out there?!" they hear Ruby yell before she stomps into the room. "Can't a girl read her comics in PEACE?!" she angrily says. She then sees Qrow burp and chuckle, and she sighs before putting a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "Uncle Qrow, did you get drunk again?" she asks, already knowing the answer.

"Maybe," Qrow replies, waving his right hand in the air before it falls, still drunk.

"Again? Ruby, he's ALWAYS drunk," Khazhak points out.

"Oh," the boy begins as he steps in and looks at Ruby, getting everyone's attention. "You have silver eyes," he says in slight awe.

Ruby looks at him, a bit surprised, while Khazhak narrows his eyes at the boy. Ruby turns to Ren and Nora, who shrug in mild confusion, before she looks back at him.

"Who…are you?" she asks, while Qrow then chuckles from his couch.

"Um… Well. My name is Oscar pine," Oscar begins.

"Wait for it…" Qrow says.

"…But you probably know me as…Professor Ozpin," he finishes, his hands behind his back.

Team RNJR and Voshkie'ahk all gasp in confusion, with Jaune taking a few steps back, and Khazhak being the only one aside from Qrow that isn't surprised by this.

Qrow chuckles a bit, "I did it!" Qrow yells, pumping his fists into the air…and then falls onto the floor, passed out.

Nora gets startled by this and her hands go to her mouth, "Ooh!" she gasps.

Khazhak groans and just facepalms, _"I really need my teammates back before I lose it."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Volume 5 begins and it seems that Lionheart and Oscar Pine are already getting on Khazhak's bad side. Speaking of which, Oscar Pine/Ozpin join the party, but how will they fair with Khazhak, who has a bone to pick with the former headmaster of Beacon. The next chapter will be on the other members of the two teams. What awaits Khazhak and Ruby? What about their teammates? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	75. Chapter 70: Many Paths

**Here we are at Chapter 70. Sorry about the late update, my hard drive died and I had to get my lap top repaired, and I lost my files unfortunately. But that won't stop me from writing my stories. On the bright side, we now have over 100 followers to this story. Thank you to all who have been keeping up with my RWBY KEPL story. I know it may not be my best, but it's the most important to me because of my OCs in it. Thank you. Anyway, this chapter will focus on the other members of Teams KEPL and RWBY. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 70. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 70: Many Paths**

In their airship that's still making their way to Mistral, Weiss and Reaper watch through the side windows in the back of the airship, watching the scenery fly by them, both with much on their minds.

"So, are you sure that Khazhak and Ruby are in Mistral?" Weiss asks Reaper.

"I can't say for certain. If they're not there already, then they must be getting close at least. It has been some time since I had last spoken to Khazhak, or Lloyd or Porphyrius for that matter. I am not worried though. We have all been on our own long before Khazhak found us," Reaper notes.

Weiss hums a bit, "I think I'm going to go check with the pilot up front," Weiss says and hops off from her spot to head to the cockpit, with Reaper following her.

The pilot hears the door open and glances back at them, "Hey, you guys. Enjoy your little nap?" he jokes.

"So, how much farther?" Weiss asks, ignoring the question.

"We're almost there. It'll be a little while longer though. You'll be glad to know that we have no more stops from here to Mistral. Sorry for the long trip. Keeping us off the radar's been harder than I thought. Lots of air traffic around northern Anima," the pliot replies.

"It's no matter to us. As long we haven't been a problem for you," Reaper says.

The pilot chuckles, "Heh-heh, you two and your money are more than welcome on this ship," he says, but then his comms pick up a transmission. "What the...?" he mutters as he reaches over and adjusts the signal to make it clearer.

"Is everything okay?" Weiss asks as she and Reaper walk up behind him.

The pilot hums, "I don't know. We're still over Lake Matsu. Shouldn't be picking up broadcasts this far from Mistral. Someone must be close," he says.

Just then, the signal comes in and a frantic female voice is heard on the other end.

"Mayday, mayday! We are a small passenger flight, and our huntress is DOWN! We aren't equipped to deal with this! We need help!" the female voice yells.

"Oh no," the pilot mutters.

"That doesn't sound good," Reaper notes, listening closely.

"The Grimm hit us 400 klicks north of the southern shoreline! Get them off us! If anyone can hear this- Ah!" the female pilot shouts as an explosion is heard on her end.

Weiss' expression grows even more concerned as the Mistral Pilot cries out and the transmission abruptly ends. Reaper looks away and clenches his left fist. The Atlas pilot turns off his radio and turns the ship. Weiss walks over to him and grabs onto a handle in the ceiling.

"We're going to help them, right?" Weiss asks, concerned.

"What? NO. I'm trying to AVOID them," the pilot denies her request.

"But... they'll die," Weiss claims.

"Look, if we picked up their transmission, I'm sure someone else did, too. Besides, this is a cargo ship. She's not much good in a fight. I just wanna finish this job and get home. Sorry, kid. My ship, my rules," the pilot says.

Weiss looks out the front window, worried, until Reaper puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Come with me," he says, nodding to the back. The two walk back to their resting place. "I know you want to help them Weiss. I do as well, but unfortunately, this is a lesson that ALL huntsmen and huntresses must eventually learn...That you can't save everyone. Even if we did go to their aid, we would've been too late, and then we would be in danger. I know it is hard to hear, but we must press on," Reaper explains.

Weiss, turns away, sad, and holds her arms as she looks out the window, "I just...wish we could do something to help them. We're supposed to protect people. That's our job as huntsmen and huntresses...But, then again, I haven't bothered trying to help anyone for months. Not since the Fall of Beacon, and when I abandoned my teammates...My friends. Reaper...do you think Ruby will be angry at me when I see her again? Angry that I left the way I did?" Weiss asks, a few tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

Reaper walks up, turns her around and gently lifts up her chin to look him in the eye as he wipes the tears away.

"Weiss, I may not know your leader as well as you do, but I can say without any doubts that Ruby will not be angry with you. Quite the opposite. I believe that she will be beyond happy to see you again. You have a kind heart, despite what some of the students at Beacon would say," Reaper comforts her.

Weiss feels relieved to hear his words, and then a though occurs to her. She takes the hand Reaper has on her chin and holds it in her own, confusing him a bit.

"You know, it just occurred to me. Back at Beacon, when I was much worse than I am now when we first started there; your teammates didn't like me. Khazhak hated me, Porphyrius wanted me dead, and Lloyd was, well...Lloyd. And yet, you were never like that with me. You were always kind, always supportive, except for that one time where Khazhak wanted to kill me. But I understand about that; I was being a colossal idiot at the time. Anyway, you've always been there for me, even before we became good friends. I never got the chance to really ask but...why?" Weiss asks.

Reaper remains silent for a moment before he finds his voice again, "At first, when I heard that a Schnee was attending Beacon Academy, I was a little annoyed by it, but at the same time, I was curious. Why would Weiss Schnee want to become a huntress? Even more so, why would she want to attend Beacon rather than Atlas. I wanted to take a leap of faith and learn why you were here. Once I began to see the kind of person you were, and more importantly, the kind of person you could become, I wanted to see if I could help you achieve that. I believe that you can change the way the world looks at your family, make things better for everyone. I took a chance at the potential within you, and I am glad to see that that chance was not wasted," Reaper explains.

Weiss appears stunned by his words, but smiles anyway, "Thank you...Reaper."

...

It is late at night, and in the front room of the Belladonna Family Home, Ghira Belladonna and Sun Wukong burst in through the front door, angry while Kali Belladonna watches from the front porch.

"Unbelievable!" Ghira yells.

"Total garbage!" Sun adds, just as angry.

"We can't let them get away with this!" Both Sun and Ghira say as they turn and face each other.

Kali smiles a little bit, "Well at least you two can finally find something to agree on," she notes.

They look at her, then back at each other. Sun gives an awkward chuckle while rubbing his head, and Ghira glares slightly and growls, fists clenched.

"And here I thought that was impossible," they hear and turn to see Porphyrius walk past Kali, followed by Blake who joins the group.

"Guys, everything is going to be okay. We just have to press on," Blake says as she tries to calm them down.

Porphyrius grunts, "If you say so," he mutters and takes his leave. Porphyrius returns to his room in the household and sighs before he sits on his bed. " _How much longer is this going to go on. Khazhak_ _and Yang need me. I can't be stuck on this island forever,"_ he thinks. "I need some fresh air.

Leaving his room, he finds a guard doing a patrol down the hallway and stops to face him. The guard is wearing black and white clothing under grey armor and is carrying a spear for a weapon.

"Good evening, sir. Is there something I can help you with?" the male guard asks.

Porphyrius shakes his head, "No, I'm fine. I'm just going for some fresh air," he says.

"Very well, let me or one of the other guards know if you need something," the guard says before resuming his patrol.

Porphyrius heads in the opposite direction and exits out the side of the building onto the balcony. Looking up into the night sky, Porphyrius closes his eye, as purple flames start to emit from his eyepatch. His body starts to float off the ground, but he quickly opens his eye and the flames dissipate as he falls back onto his feet. Porphyrius sighs again, and turns to leave, only to notice a certain chameleon Faunus land on the railing a short distance away from him, where the door to Ghira's study is located.

"You need better security," he hears Ilia say and realizes that Blake is nearby.

Luckily, he has his weapon on him.

Before Blake can say anything, they both hear what sounds like a gun cocked.

"She does. Why do you think I'm here?" they hear and look to see Porphyrius with his left arm rifle aimed at Ilia's head. "Now unless you're here to talk or give yourself up, I suggest you get to stepping, because I am not in the mood," he threatens her.

Blake gets ready to move as well, but Ilia holds her hands up, "Please! I-I just need to talk. I didn't come here to fight," she pleads.

"Could've fooled me, with how you injured Sun the last time we met, or with how you've been spying on Blake. Sorry, but I don't believe anything you say," Porphyrius says, keeping his weapon up and ready.

"Porphyrius please," Blake asks Porphyrius, but he shakes his head. Seeing as she won't change his mind, Blake turns back to Ilia. "How could you take the fall for them, Ilia?" she asks.

Ilia stands up on the railing, "Blake..." she begins.

"Corsac and Fennec BLAMED you. We confronted them tonight, and they deny knowing anything and everything found on your Scroll. They talked about how disappointed they were to hear that you'd sided with Adam...But you and I both know they're guilty," Blake says.

"Those pricks can spout all they want about 'being peaceful and sorry for Beacon, but we all know that they have blood on their hands, just like Adam, and just like you," Porphyrius adds.

"You guys can't prove anything. It's not going to matter," Ilia retorts.

"That Scroll might not have been enough to lock them up, but it's enough to sway the Faunus here. When we go public tomorrow, they're not going to stand for any of it. And neither should you," Blake notes.

Ilia removes her mask, showing a sad expression on her face, "Your plan isn't gonna work, Blake. Please...just leave Menagerie before it's too late. Leave all of this behind, so you won't get hurt," she pleads with her old friend.

Blake just stares at her for a moment, "...You're going to have to make me," she says defiantly.

Ilia just stares back, her expression becoming a little sadder, "...I know," she says, and then dons her mask and steps backward off the balcony.

Blake turns away and gains an angry expression, her cat ears folding while Porphyrius lowers his weapon. After a moment, the anger fades, and she sighs, taking on a saddened expression.

"We're going to have to deal with her sooner or later," Porphyrius notes.

Blake sighs, "I know...Thank you Porphyrius for letting us talk," she says as she looks at him.

Porphyrius grunts in annoyance, "I didn't do it for you. Let me once again be clear; I'm here to keep you alive and to get you to Mistral to not only stop the White Fang, but to also get you back to your team. You may not want to face them, but the fact remains that you need to, and they need you. Especially Yang. But before we can do that, we have to take care of business here, and that means dealing with Ilia. I'm only going to say this once..." Porphyrius says before he walks right up to Blake to look her in the eye. "Either you deal with her...or I will..." he says and then leaves to head back to his room.

Blake watches him leave before looking back out into the night, "...That's what I'm afraid of," she mutters.

…

Meanwhile, in Anima, Yang is driving her motorcycle, Bumblebee, through a forest on a dirt road, with Lloyd sitting behind her.

"So, any idea where we're supposed to go next?" Lloyd asks.

"Well, I think there's a gas station up ahead. I need to refuel Bumblebee. I could also use something to drink. Plus, we could anyone there if they have an idea of where my mom is," Yang says.

Lloyd rolls his eyes, "Yeah, the mother who has never so much as said a single word to you herself in your entire life, and who is apparently a dangerous bandit leader. Oh yeah, there's ABSOLUTELY no way this can wrong," he says sarcastically. " _Somebody, please shoot_ _me."_

"Come on. Let's just focus on getting some fuel first. We'll worry about that bridge when we cross it," Yang says, and then sees the gas station coming up. "That's the place. Can you fill up Bumblebee for me? I'll pay for fuel inside," Yang asks.

"Yeah, yeah, just make it quick. And get me a water while you're at it," Lloyd replies.

They reach the gas station and pull up next to one of the pumps. Yang and Lloyd hop off and while Yang heads inside, Lloyd starts working on getting the motorcycle fueled up. Lloyd glances around, seeing no one else nearby.

"Finally here in Anima, and yet still nowhere close to getting back to Brother. Even if we manage to find Raven, I highly doubt she's gonna help us out of the kindness of her heart...if she even has one. What Taiyang saw in her, or why Brother even has some respect for her, I'll never know," Lloyd mutters. After a few more seconds, the motorcycle is all fueled up and Lloyd cleans up before looking to the station. "What's taking her so long?" he wonders and decides to head inside.

When he gets inside, he sees a shady looking guy, who also appears to be a little drunk, approach Yang, only for Yang to grab his arm and throws a hard right punch to the dude's face, knocking out a tooth and sending the guy bouncing off the ceiling and the floor like a pinball. However, once he gets close to Lloyd, Lloyd catches the man by his face with his left hand.

Lloyd looks at Yang with a deadpan expression, "I can't leave you alone for two minutes without you starting a fight. Even worse, you started it without inviting me," Lloyd says, feeling a little offended.

"He was hitting on me," Yang replies, hand on her hip.

"...Oooohhhh...Well, in that case," Lloyd notes before he turns around and throws the guy right out the door. "Be glad it was me and not Porphyrius," he mutters before he walks up to Yang.

Just then, the bartender behind the bar pops back up with two water bottles in his hands, "These on the house. He's been driving me crazy. Thanks for getting rid of him for me," he says.

Yang reaches for it with her left hand, but it trembles. Her metal hand grabs and steadies it, while Lloyd watches out of the corner of his eye. She gives a long, shaky sigh before picking up the bottle along with Lloyd. Both use their fingers to pop the caps, while Yang slowly guzzles her down, Lloyd simply chugs his and downs it all in one gulp.

"So, what brings you two around these parts?" the bartender asks.

Yang holds up a finger, still guzzling until the water is gone.

"Thanks for the drinks. As for why we're here, we're...looking for someone," Lloyd says.

The bartender chuckles, "Heh-heh-heh, not too many people come out here. Too far from the Kingdoms. Only person worth noting around here is...uh, well, Ra—," he begins.

"Raven Branwen...," Yang interrupts him and then retrieves her aviators.

" _Brother's master,"_ Lloyd thinks.

"...Thanks again," Yang says to the bartender as the pair take their leave.

"N-now, you two! You don't want to go messin' with bandits! They're a world of trouble! You'll get killed! They're dangerous!" the bartender tries to dissuade them.

The two pay him no mind as Yang puts on her sunglasses and head out the door, but Lloyd stops and glances back at the bartender.

"Yeah...well so are we," Lloyd says and then exits the building.

The two walk outside, barely noticing the shady guy from earlier slowly get onto one knee while holding his jaw, still reeling from Yang's punch and then getting thrown out like a baseball by Lloyd. As they get onto bumblebee, the shady guy shakes his head a bit and looks at them.

"Hey, goldilocks and metal man!" the shady man calls out.

"Seriously? This isn't over?" Yang notes, getting annoyed.

"Dude, you just got knocked around like a pinball. You want to see what it feels like to get spiked like a volleyball into the dirt?" Lloyd threatens him.

The shady man slowly gets back onto his feet, "I heard you're... looking for someone. Heh," he says, smiling with one of his teeth still missing.

However, that smile quickly disappears when Lloyd suddenly rushes him, grabs him by the throat and slams him into a wall, holding him up against the stone surface with just his left hand.

"Unless you want to lose the rest of your teeth, I suggest you start talking," Lloyd growls, tightening his grip a bit for emphasis.

The shady man tries to break free, but to no avail, "H-hey take it easy. I... I hear you two are looking for Raven Branwen, right?" he squeezes out while trying to breath.

Yang then walks up behind Lloyd, "Yeah. What of it?" she asks.

"It just so happens that I know where's she's at. I also happen to work for her. I... I can take you straight to her," he says.

Yang leans in closer, taking her shades off, "You'd better not be lying," she warns him.

"It's true, I swear. I'll take you there right now," the man says.

Lloyd and Yang glance at each other for a moment before Yang nods to Lloyd and he release the punk, dropping him to the floor.

"Alright, take us to her. NOW," Lloyd demands. _"First Raven...and then Brother..."_

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Again, sorry for the late update. Just a lot of things going on right now, that's all. Anyway, the other members of Teams RWBY and KEPL are now on their way to Haven as well. Who knows what awaits them along the way? And what about Ruby and Khazhak's** **group? Until then, please Read and Review.**

 **P.S.: To those asking for Sienna Khan to be spared, sorry but there's nothing I can do about that. I don't have any plans for her. Every choice has a cost, and all the choices she's made lead up to what happened. Sorry, but that's how it is.**


	76. Chapter 71: The Man with Two Souls

**Here we are at Chapter 71. Let's get back to Ruby's group as they talk to Ozpin and Oscar (and hopefully without Khazhak** **killing the both of them). I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 71. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 71: The Man with Two Souls**

In Yukari's house, Oscar Pine is seen sitting on a red armchair, feeling nervous as almost everyone else stare at him, with the members of Team RJNR around him while Qrow sits on one couch along with Voshkie'ahk and Khazhak stands behind the table with his arms crossed.

"Did he age backwards?" Nora asks first.

"What if he's possessed?!" Jaune says next.

"Or reincarnated!" Ren adds.

"Oh, Isn't it weird?" Ruby says.

"...It is very weird, yeah," Oscar says, feeling a little overwhelmed.

" **A human with two souls in one body. I must admit, that is a little intriguing,"** Bahmut notes.

"Okay, okay. Let's all just take a second and remember that this is very overwhelming for everyone," Qrow reminds everyone from his spot on the couch, causing the members of Team RNJR to all step back together and chuckle a little in embarrassment.

Oscar looks to Qrow, "Thanks," he says.

After that, the members of Team RJNR take their own seats. Ruby and Nora take a seat on the couch perpendicular to Qrow's, while Jaune and Ren remain standing. Oscar then shares a brief look with Ruby, who giggles, causing Oscar to blush.

Oscar then looks away, "Ah, sorry! It's just I've never really met Huntsmen and Huntresses before," he says.

"Well, uh... we've never met a person with two souls! So, first times all around," Ruby replies.

"Ahem," Khazhak fake coughs, getting their attention. "Are you forgetting something?" he says as he gestures to himself and his sister.

"Oh right, I mean besides Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk. Except they have the wills of dragons within them rather than the soul of another person, so..." Ruby trails off.

" **Please, are we that easy to be forgotten?"** Bahamut asks.

" **Well, brother, Khazhak** **and Voshkie'ahk** **are the only ones able to hear us, and it's not we're able** **to speak directly to the others,"** Tiamat adds.

Oscar glances at Khazhak, who only glares back at him as he narrows his eyes, making Oscar feel both nervous and a little scared.

Oscar leans in to Ruby, "Um, I don't think he likes me," he whispers, while Khazhak continues to glare at him.

"Oh, don't worry, Khazhak's only like that with...mostly everyone," Ruby tries and fails to make Oscar feel better.

"Right, well, not to break up the whole 'getting-to-know-you' game, but we need to have a talk. Mind showing us your little parlor trick, kid?" Qrow asks Oscar.

Oscar groans a bit, "Yeah, okay. Just so you know, I'll still be here. And make sure he doesn't kill me," Oscar says, the last part with a finger pointing at Khazhak.

"Khazhak, no hurting the new guy," Ruby asks him, and Khazhak grunts as his only acknowledgement of the request.

While mostly everyone else looks on in slight confusion, Oscar then lowers his head and closes his eyes. Suddenly, a green and white aura shines from his body for a moment, Oscar opens up his eyes, which are now glowing, and he smiles. When he speaks, they all hear a familiar voice overlapping with a bunch of other voices, including Oscar's.

"It is so very good to see you again, students," Ozpin suddenly speaks in place of Oscar, leaving all of Team RNJR slightly confused.

"Wait, what just happened?" Jaune asks first.

"Is that... Professor Ozpin?" Ren realizes.

Correct. And though I may be the one speaking, Oscar is still present mentally. He's merely handed over the control, so to speak," Ozpin explains.

"Great, more hocus-pocus," Khazhak groans a bit.

" _Just don't make us do anything embarassing,"_ Oscar asks mentally.

"I'm afraid this all must be very perplexing," Ozpin notes,

"And alarming, and bizarre, and just really kind of hard to believe overall!" Nora claims.

Ozpin chuckles, "Heh-heh-heh, it's good to see you children still have your sense of humor," he replies, but then frowns. "I know you've all been through tremendous hardship already. I'm sorry," he apologizes.

"I mean, it's not your fault," Ruby tries to comfort him.

But Ozpin isn't so uplifted, "It's all my fault," he begins.

"For once, we agree. Don't think for a second that I've forgotten our earlier conversation," Khazhak interrupts him.

"Khazhak, please-," Ruby retorts.

"No, Miss Rose. Khazhak is right. I told you once that I've made more mistakes than any man, woman, and child on this planet, and I wasn't exaggerating. I'm... cursed. For thousands of years, I've walked the surface of Remnant, living, dying, and reincarnating in the body of a like-minded soul. The Professor Ozpin you all met was not my first form and clearly wasn't my last. It's... an extraordinarily strenuous process on everyone involved," Ozpin explains his...situation, while Qrow heads back to grab something from the kitchen.

"So, who... what... are you?" Jaune slowly asks.

"I am the combination of countless men who've spent their lives trying to protect the people of Remnant," Ozpin begins as Qrow returns with a cup of tea. "With every rebirth, my soul is eventually merged with another and I am changed, but my memories stay with me. This curse was bestowed upon me by the gods because I failed to stop Salem in the past. But we must stop her now," Ozpin explains.

"And your plan for accomplishing that is..." Voshkie'ahk asks.

"We start... by ensuring the safety of the Relic of Knowledge," Ozpin says as he leans back in his chair.

"The relic kept hidden beneath Haven Academy. Ozpin and Lionheart explained that to us when we visited earlier, as Qrow and I explained to you when we found you in town," Khazhak says.

"Yes, it is reassuring to know that you all were heading to the same place as me. The more allies we have working together, the better," Ozpin adds.

Nora then gets an idea, "Yeah, this is perfect! We were stuck at a dead end after visiting the school, but now, we can just take little cute boy Ozpin to Lionheart and have him set things straight!" Nora jumps for joy.

Ozpin gives her a deapan look, "Please don't call me that," he asks.

"Yeah, we're not sure that's the best idea right not," Qrow interjects, making Nora pout a bit and sit back down with Ruby and Ren.

"Why not? The other headmasters listen to Professor Ozpin, don't they?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"That WAS the intention. Four lieutenants I can trust, especially during times of reincarnation. But Qrow and Khazhak told me about your earlier meeting with Leonardo. He isn't just behaving irrationally, he's disobeying specific instructions I had left him," Ozpin notes as he stands up and walks toward a painting of Mistral on the wall. "Something's wrong. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I don't want to rule out any possibilities, either. No one outside of this room knows that I've paired with Oscar, and I think it may be best to keep it that way," he explains as he turns back to them.

"Play things close to the chest until we get a better hand," Qrow says.

Khazhak sighs, "As much as I hate to admit it, they have a point. Something felt off about Lionheart when we first met him. I could tell that he wasn't giving us all the information we needed to know. Until we know more, it would be best to keep Ozpin's reincarnation a secret," Khazhk says.

"Precisely. Now, we have two steps ahead of us. With that in mind, the first is enlisting the aid of more Huntsmen," Ozpin states.

"But what about the Mistral Council?" Ren asks.

"Don't worry. They don't own every Huntsman in the Kingdom, and I've been here enough times to know where we can find some more," Qrow answers.

"Same here. I've only been to Mistral a hnadful of times, but even I was able to see that there were some huntsmen and huntresses that didn't like taking orders from a bunch of politicians that do nothing but sit around and complain," Khazhak adds.

"So long as they're trustworthy," Ozpin asks.

Qrow grunts in slight amusement, "You can trust them to put up a good fight. I'll throw together a list tonight," Qrow says and puts his foot on the coffee table, only for said table to have one of its legs break off and the whole thing fall to the ground, spilling his tea.

"Good luck with that," Nora notes.

"Master Qrow! This is Yukari's place. I don't need you breaking anything here because of your semblance, or else she'll get upset at you, and I really don't feel like dealing with your usual grudge matches right now," Voshkie'ahk complains.

"Hey, it's not my fault," Qrow retorts, only for everyone to stare at him. "I told you I can't control my semblance. Get off my back...Although, maybe I could figure it out in order to destroy more of Yukari's stuff," he mutters with a grin.

Voshkie'ahk groans as her face falls into her hands.

"Miss Hakucho is here? And this is her residence?" Ozpin asks.

"Wait, you know about Yukari?" Ruby asks.

"Of course. Miss Ryukado informed me of the relationship some time back. I saw no trouble with it as long as it didn't affect her training or her missions. However, I must ask: you didn't tell her anything about our mission, did you?" Ozpin asks.

"No, we've kept her out of the loop on that. Luckily, she's very understanding," Voshkie'ahk explains

Ozpin nods, "Good. While Miss Hakucho maybe skilled in her own field, she is still just a civilian. It is for her own protection that she remains unaware about our mission. Still, I am thankful that she's letting you all stay here for the time being. Now then, back on topic. After recruiting more huntsmen to our side, we can move on to step two," he says.

"What's step two?" Nora asks.

Ozpin then gets up and grabs his cane before turning back to them.

"Getting your group into fighting shape," Ozpin replies.

This causes the group of former students to look at each other in confusion.

"But, uh, we already know how to fight," Ruby says.

Ozpin aims his cane at Ruby, "You can only fight so long as you have Crescent Rose, but you're still lacking in hand-to-hand combat, Miss Rose. You need to improve your hand-to-hand combat skills to truly improve as a huntress," he states.

"That's putting it mildly," Khazhak notes.

"Hey!" Ruby yells, offended, making Khazhak chuckle.

Ozpin then points his cane to Jaune, "Mr. Arc, I'm glad to hear you've improved with your swordmanship and upgraded your weapon. However, I am a little disappointed to hear that you've yet to unlock your semblance. The four of you all have much to learn if you are to improve and be more prepared for the battles that lie ahead. And though Oscar can give me temporary control, he'll need to strengthen his body and his aura," he explains.

" _Wait, what?_ " Oscar asks mentally.

"He'll inherit my muscle memory in time, but practice will expedite the process," Ozpin says.

"Wait, what about Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk?" Ruby asks.

"Well, I think it is fair to say that the Ryu siblings have the most power and the most skill out of your group. Mr. Rairyu, Miss Ryukado, I'm afraid there is not much left i can teach you in terms of combat skill. You both have progressed far further than your allies. However, there is the matter of your special gifts, the Dragon Spirit," Ozpin begins.

"What, you're going to teach us how to master it?" Khazhak asks.

" **As if a mere human would understand the power of the Dragon Spirit better than a dragon,"** Bahamut notes, feeling a little offended at the idea.

" **I'm inclined to agree with you, brother,"** Tiamat adds.

"No, no, I'm afraid even I am not well-versed in the power of the Dragon Spirit. But, since you both have the wills of dragons within, you'll have to work with them to improve your connection with that power. I know little about the power of the Dragon Spirit, and apparently the tales and stories related to it have been misinterpreted. This power is even older than I am, so there is little I can do to aid you," Ozpin says.

" **That's more like it,"** Bahamut says.

"Makes no difference to me," Khazhak notes.

"We won't let you down, Professor Ozpin," Voshkie'ahk adds with a slight bow.

But then a thought occurs to Ruby, "But if Qrow's out looking for Huntsmen, then who's going to teach us?" she asks.

Ozpin suddenly jumps into the air with his cane, spinning counterclockwise into a barrel roll before landing onto the seat of the armchair, twirling his cane with style and a smirk.

"Well, I believe I WAS the headmaster of Beacon Academy," Ozpin notes.

The display leaves the members of Team RNJR with surprised looks on their faces.

Khazhak grunts, "Show off," he mutters.

"We have approximately one month before classes resume at Haven. If Salem were to plan an attack, it would make sense that it would occur prior to students' return. It's not MUCH time, but it's better than nothing. Just don't expect me to go easy on you," Ozpin says as he stops twirling his cane around.

Just then his eyes glow green for a moment, a sign of him switching control back to Oscar. Oscar has a hard time keeping his balance on the armchair and quickly falls backwards, taking the chair with him and landing hard on the floor.

Oscar groans in pain, "You've gotta be kidding me," he mutters as everyone else look on, some with expressions of worry, others with confusion, and one (Khazhak) shaking his head.

Just then, the front doors open up and in walks Yukari, carrying a few bags in her hands.

"Voshkie darling, I'm home!" Yukari cheers, but then sees everyone in the living room, along with Oscar still on the ground. "Um...what did I miss?" she asks, confused.

…

In Salem's domain, Salem has just finished a conversation with Watts, learning about the Spring Maiden's whereabouts among other things, through her Seer Grimm and then turns to Cinder, who has fully recovered, and looks very unhappy.

"You are free to speak your mind," Salem offers.

"I just...I don't understand it. Working with bandits? Letting Ruby live? Why? We're strong enough to take what we want by force. And why only have Khazhak killed and not Ruby along with him?" Cinder asks.

"Never underestimate the usefulness of others. As for Ruby and Khazhak...You will have the power I promised you Cinder, but you must remember that it will always come at a cost. If the girl with the Silver Eyes and the boy with the Dragon Spirit have mastered their gifts, then you must take extra care to master yours. There is only so much I can do for you. Ruby Rose's gift is especially potent to you, which is why we must be careful. As for Khazhak, from what Tyrian has told us, he has yet to master his gift, but if he does...Then he will be more powerful than even you," Salem explains.

Cinder grunts a bit, "I doubt that. How could he possibly be more powerful than a Maiden?" she asks.

"Because of the origins of his gift. Thanks to our associate, we now know more about the Dragon Spirit, and how it came to be. The power of a dragon is unlike anything else in Remnant, with the only things that are more powerful being the gods themselves and the relics. Khazhak's power may have some backlash, but if he masters it, then even you won't stand a chance against him. That is why he can die, but Ruby must live...for now anyway. Or do I need to remind you of the incident with our...associate... from a while back. As I recollect, you didn't stand a chance against him, and he hadn't fully mastered his power yet, and still has yet to," Salem says.

Cinder scoffs, "That was just because I only had half of the power of the Fall Maiden. I'm stronger now," she retorts.

"Yes...and so is he. Not only that, but he has more knowledge about Khazhak Rairyu than you do, which gives him an advantage. Right now, he is the best option to take care of Khazhak Rairyu, but for now he is working in Vacuo. When the time comes, he will return and I will have him deal with Khazhak... unless you think you can handle it instead," Salem adds.

"I CAN kill Khazhak," Cinder replies.

"Well, we'll see soon enough. For now, take your minions and go to Raven Branwen's hideout. Our priority right now is the Spring Maiden," Salem commands her. Cinder nods and prepares to walk away, but Salem stops her. "Oh, and Cinder, before you go, inform Tyrian... that I wish to have a word with him," Salem asks, her eyes glowing as her expression darkens a bit.

Cinder smirks a bit and nods before leaving the room.

…

"So, this kid is also an aspiring huntsman in training and he came here to Mistral in the hopes of one day becoming a huntsman and you guys are taking him in to help with his training?" Yukari asks, gesturing to Oscar.

Yeah, that's basically the gist of it," Ruby lies.

" _It's not exactly a full lie. More like half of it since Oar will be training_ _with us to improve his skills with Ozpin,"_ Khazhak mentally notes.

"I hope I'm not being a bother to you and your home," Oscar says.

Yukari eventually smiles, "Oh, it's no bother. However, there is one problem," Yukari says.

"And that is?" Qrow asks, already annoyed that Yukari is back.

Yukari puts a hand to her chin and looks Oscar up, down, and all around.

"That attire will NOT do for a future huntsman. For a farm boy, maybe, but not for combat... Luckily, I have a solution," Yukari says, smirking.

"Oh, no, here we go," Qrow groans.

"While you're staying here, I will work on some proper huntsmen attire for you. When I'm done, you'll look like the next headmaster of Beacon Academy," Yukari says.

Mostly everyone chuckles nervously a bit.

" _Well, he is technically the former headmaster of Beacon Academy, so she's not far off,"_ Ruby thinks.

" _Good luck, Oscar. You have no idea what you're in for,"_ Voshkie'ahk thinks, knowing full well that Oscar is in for a bit of trouble that she knows all too well.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Oscar/Ozpin explain themselves to the gang, and prepare for the next step in their training. Meanwhile, Salem and Cinder move with their plans, but who were they talking about that knows Khazhak? How will Khazhak** **and his allies training go? Until then, please Read and Review. Have a Happy New Year!**


	77. Chapter 72: A Bumpy Ride

**Here we are at Chapter 72. We now have 100 favorites! Thank you for keeping up with the story. I know it may not be my best, but it's the most important to me because of my OC team. Again, thank you. Let's see how some of the members of Team RWBY and Team KEPL are doing on their journeys. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 72. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 72: A Bumpy Ride**

The morning sun rises into the skies of Mistral. Inside Yukari's house, Voshkie'ahk sleeps peacefully in her bed. A few minutes later, she stirs from her slumber and slowly opens her eyes, looking to her left to see the entrance to their room, then looking to her right to see Khazhak's bed, though it's empty.

"Guess Khazhak's already up. He always was an early riser," Voshkie'ahk notes. As she turns her head again, she sees Yukari looming over her and then goes...wait, what? "Y-Yukari, what are you doing in my room?!" Voshkie'ahk stutters, wide awake now.

"Good morning, Voshkie darling. I hope you slept well. I just wanted to take this time to watch you sleep a little bit. Oh, you were so precious that it was a challenge not to wrap my arms around you and snuggle under the covers.," Yukari greets her, sitting on her hands and knees over Voshkie'ahk.

It is then that Voshkie'ahk notices Yukari's apparel: a long purple yukata with the torso opened up a bit to reveal quite a bit of cleavage from Yukari's well-endowed chest and the lower half revealing one of her legs, resulting in Voshkie'ahk blushing a deep red.

"Y-Y-Yukari, how did you get in here? The door was locked?" Voshkie'ahk asks, holding the covers just under her chin. Yukari snaps her fingers and a part of the wall next to Voshkie'ahk's bed opens up, revealing a tunnel to Yukari's room next door. "What the- but what about Khazhak?" she asks again, but then remembers that Khazhak had already left earlier while she was still asleep, and then it dons on Voshkie'ahk. _"She planned for this!"_ she realizes.

"I knew your brother would hear me if I tried to sneak in during the night. So, I simply waited until he left and then made my move. Come now, Voshkie'ahk, you can't say you're not enjoying the view here, can you?" Yukari teases her as she lowers her body down, her chest a mere inch away from touching the bed sheets covering Voshkie'ahk.

"I...um, uh, I wouldn't say that I don't like it, but..." Voshkie'ahk trails off.

"We haven't seen each other in so long. I just couldn't wait much longer, Voshkie darling. I think I deserve a reward for being so patient. Or maybe, I should give you a reward for working so hard," Yukari says seductively, slowly sliding her chest over the bed sheets until it rests on Voshkie'ahk's, leaving their faces just a few inches from each other, while her body now has Voshkie'ahk trapped.

"I...I..." Voshkie'ahk mutters. _"Oh god, why does she do this to me, and yet I can't help but want more of it."_

"Come on Voshkie'ahk. If you want it, then you merely need to say it to me," Yukari whispers as she gets just a little closer.

"Can... Can... Can you give me a good morning kiss?" Voshkie'ahk all but begs, her eyes slowly closing.

Yukari giggles, "All you had to do was ask," she says, closing her eyes as well.

However, just before their lips meet, the door to the room suddenly gets kicked open, only to reveal Khazhak on the other side, looking a little annoyed.

"K-Khazhak!" Voshkie'ahk almost screams. "This isn't what it looks like!"

"Uh huh. I said to keep it rated PG, Yukari. Stop messing around and get out. We have training today," Khazhak says before he walks away.

Yukari sits up and pouts, "Hmph, way to kill the moment. Boo," she says, puffing her cheeks.

Voshkie'ahk sits up and gets out of bed to get changed out of her white sleeveless nightgown. She gets changed while Yukari looks away and gets into her combat outfit.

Yukari turns around after she's done, "I always knew my outfits would suit you perfectly. Like a little angel," she swoons over her girlfriend.

"I have to get going. I'll see you down for breakfast," Voshkie'ahk says and goes to leave.

However, Yukari grabs her arm and pulls her in for a deep kiss. Voshkie'ahk's eyes flutter closed as she welcomes the feeling of their lips intertwined. Eventually, they separate for some air, leaving a dreamy look on Voshkie'ahk's face.

"Well, breakfast does sound good, but I just wanted a sweet appetizer first," Yukari says. Voshkie'ahk is about to speak before Yukari stops her with a finger on her lips. "Don't worry, I'll be down shortly. Wouldn't want to make your brother lose his patience, now would we?" Yukari says, taking her finger back.

"Okay, but... can I have... another kiss?" Voshkie'ahk asks, blushing again as she looks way.

Yukari giggles again, "Anytime, Voshkie darling," she replies and gives Voshkie'ahk another kiss, albeit a shorter kiss before they both leave to get ready for the day.

…

As the cargo ship flies over Lake Matsu, Weiss, still somber over being unable to help the Mistralian cargo pilots, looks out the window of the cargo airship. She then hears some coughing noises and looks to see Reaper, with his mask off before he puts it back on again.

"Reaper, what are you doing?!" Weiss yells as she goes to sit next to him, worried.

"I guess you could say I'm training my throat and lungs to be able to breath without my mask, albeit for only a few extra minutes, and with little success," Reaper replies as he calms his breath.

"You know that's dangerous. You need to be more careful about your mask. I don't know what I would do if-," Weiss says before she stops herself from saying something embarrassing.

"What you would do if what?" Reaper asks.

Weiss keeps her gaze away from his, her cheeks reddening a bit. However, she gets saved as some shadows pass over them and they look to see a series of landmasses floating in the bright blue, partly cloudy sky, with black Dust crystals jutting out from the bottom of the rock formations. While stunned by the display, Weiss is also confused and stands up to head to the pilot's cockpit with Reaper in tow.

"Where are we?" Weiss asks.

The pilot shakes his head, "Nowhere good. Passing by some of Lake Matsu's floating islands. The gravity Dust that forms in these things is giving us a little turbulence. Nothing I can't handle, but the islands sometimes hide some nasty Grimm. I'm just betting on our friends in distress keeping them preoccupied," he says.

"That's not exactly a pleasant..." Reaper begins before he notices a burning Mistralian airship heading towards them. "Incoming!" he yells.

The airship comes barreling from their right, narrowly hitting their cargo ship and forcing the pilot to pull upward to avoid it. The doomed craft proceeds to collide into one of the floating islands.

"That must've been one of the airships that was in trouble. And that can only mean..." Reaper trails off as they look to the side.

The pilot turns the radio back on to listen for any nearby transmissions and picks one up quickly enough.

"...By the gods, we've lost Percy! Help!" the female pilot from before screams. They look to see another Mistralian airship, being pursued and attacked by Lancer Grimm, is suddenly hooked from multiple directions by their extendable stingers, which leaves them trapped and unable to move in mid-air. "We're hooked! We're hooked! Everyone, abandon ship!" the pilot shouts.

The pilot continues to panic while the Lancers pull on their stingers, slowly tearing the ship apart. As the negativity from the people on the ship builds, one Lancer flies up high before barreling down towards them and crashes into the ship, resulting in a large explosion that kills everyone on board. After that, the rest of the Grimm turn their attention to Weiss and Reaper's ship and commence pursuit.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Reaper mutters.

"Lancers. It had to be freaking Lancers. Alright, listen up-," the pilot says, only to turn around and see Weiss and Reaper jump down into the cargo hold. "What are you two doing?!" he calls out over the comms.

"What we should've done in the first place. You're carrying Dust, right?" Weiss replies, taking out her Myrtenaster while Reaper readies his twin-scythe.

"Officially, no. Unofficially, yes," the pilot replies.

Weiss opens up one of the containers in the cargo hold to find loads of Dust vials within, and uses them to load up her rapier on Dust.

"When we give the signal, open up the cargo door!" Reaper calls out.

"You'd better make it quick then!" the pilot yells.

The ship starts to make some evasive maneuvers when the Lancers get closer and start firing off their stingers. The pilot manages to evade them, but they are only getting closer. Weiss then creates a black glyph to keep herself and Reaper glued to the floor of the ship and ready their weapons.

"Do it!" Reaper yells.

The pilot opens up the cargo doors and Weiss creates an ice shard, firing it to take out one of the Lancers. One Lancer fires off its stinger straight at them, but Reaper spins his twin-scythe around to knock it away. Weiss then switches to her fire Dust and fires off several fire balls, taking out a few more Grimm.

"Weiss get ready to release your glyph," Reaper says.

"Why?" Weiss asks.

"Let me show you some new tricks I learned...Now!" Reaper yells.

Weiss shuts off her glyph and brings it back right after Reaper jumps out of the airship. She's about to yell for him, only to see him create a large skull phantom and land on top of it, now flying in the air. Reaper flies under the swarm of Lancers before coming up, using his scythe to slash through one Lancer in the center, and then fires off one of his knives. The knife stabs into the back of one Lancer and he pulls it into one of the floating land forms in the sky, causing it to crash and burn.

"Wow," Weiss mutters.

"Haha! I'm starting to like this kid. Hang on!" the pilot yells before pulling a lever.

The airship makes a sharp turn near a large land mass, with the Lancers and Reaper following close by. Weiss creates a set of smaller glyphs and fires off a few ice shards to take out four more Lancers. Meanwhile, Reaper flies close behind, looking back to see the Lancers gaining on him. Reaper flies up high to get behind one Lancer and slices its wings off, causing it to fall into the lake below. He then swings left to close in on another Grimm, which shoots its stinger at him. Reaper leans back to avoid it in slow motion, and then swings his scythe at its head, cutting it clear off. Flying around, Reaper ends up in a game of chicken with a third Lancer heading straight towards them. When they get close, Reaper jumps up over the Lancer, his skull phantom flying below it, and slices the Grimm in half with his twin-scythe while landing back on his skull phantom with style.

"I still got it," Reaper mutters before flying back to rejoin the airship. He then sees two Lancers fire off their stingers, impaling them in the sides of the airship. "Weiss!" he yells and flies over to help.

"We got to get these things off of us. We're losing speed!" the pilot yells as he tries to get the stingers off the airship.

Reaper comes in, deactivating his semblance as he lands on top of the airship. He swings his scythe around to slash off the stingers, freeing the airship.

"Thanks kid!" the pilot calls out.

Reaper nods and jumps off the airship, landing on another large skull phantom before flying next to the airship.

Weiss then gets an idea, "Can you find a pair of islands we can fit between?!" she yells.

"Kid, you are reading my mind!" the pilot replies.

The pair then make a sharp turn and head towards two large land masses that are close together. Reaper pulls back to fly right behind the airship, and nods to Weiss. Weiss nods back and fires off a few fire balls while Reaper creates a pair of skull phantoms to fly with them. The barrage then explodes into the sides of the land masses, causing pieces of stone to fall off. The pair narrowly avoid them, but the Grimm aren't so lucky as they all crash into the falling debris and go tumbling down into the water.

"Haha, alright!" the pilot yells.

Weiss smiles and sighs in relief, while Reaper flies in to land back inside the airship and gives her a thumbs up. However, their victory is short lived as they hear some more buzzing sound getting closer, only for a Queen Lancer to appear behind the airship.

"It's a Queen Lancer!" Weiss yells.

"WHAT?!" the pilot shouts.

"That explosion from earlier must have woken it up!" Reaper adds.

Weiss fires off some ice shards, while Reaper sends out a few skull phantoms. The combined attacked knocks the Queen Lancer back a bit, but doesn't stop it from resuming its attack. It then counterattacks by firing off some bone shards from the sides of its head. Reaper gets in front of Weiss and spins his twin scythe around to deflect the attack. However, some of the bone shards hit the ship's left wing and one of its thrusters, damaging it.

"Get that thing off of us. My ship can't take much more of that!" the pilot yells while hitting a few buttons.

Weiss looks back to the crates in the cargo hold and gets an idea. She and Reaper get behind the crates and Weiss conjures up a few more glyphs behind them. The crates start to float into the air and then, using some wind Dust, Weiss blows all the crates out of the airship and towards the Queen Lancer, resulting in a massive Dust explosion. Just when they think it's over, the Queen Lancer emerges from the explosion, virtually unscathed.

"I can see the shoreline...We're not gonna make it unless you do something!" the pilot shouts.

Reaper looks to Weiss, "There's only one thing left to do. I'll buy you some time. I've shown you the result of my training. Now show me the results of yours," Reaper says before he jumps out of the airship, landing on another large skull phantom.

He flies by the Queen Lancer, swinging his weapon to slice off one of its antennae, getting its attention. The Queen Lancer flies after Reaper, firing off more bone shards as it starts to gain ground on him. Reaper has his skull phantom spin and fly around some of the shards, and then he splits his weapon into its dual form and jumps off towards the Grimm. As they get close, Reaper spins around and swings his scythes at its face, landing a blow, but getting blown back himself from the Grimm flying by. Luckily, he lands on his skull phantom before flying back into the fight. All-the-while this is happening, Weiss watches on with worry before getting a determined expression on her face. Twirling her rapier and herself around a few times, she stabs her sword into the floor and creates a summoning glyph in front of her. A moment later, her Armas Gigas armor takes form and stands ready to fight.

"Pull up... Now!" Weiss calls out.

The pilot does as she asks and pulls up high into the air. Reaper sees this and decides to follow them, with the Queen Lancer hot on his tail. When the ship goes upside down, the Armas Gigas jumps out of the cargo hold and then jumps off the airship into a free fall. Reaper sees this and prepares to make another gutsy move. Weiss focuses hard and creates a greatsword for her summoning. The Armas Gigas and Reaper are about to collide, but then the Armas Gigas disappears, only to reappear behind the Queen Lancer and attacks from below off a glyph. The attack staggers the Grimm, giving Reaper the chance to fly down and attack with his twin scythe. The Armas Gigas comes in from another angle, followed by Reaper from above. His attack makes the Queen Lancer fire off its stinger at the Armas Gigas as it reappears. The summoning deflects the attack with its greatsword, only for the stinger to end up hitting the airship behind it. Reaper and the Armas Gigas make several more combo attacks on the Grimm, and then finally end it with a cross slash through its body, killing the monster. The Armas Gigas disappears along with the Grimm, while Reaper lands on another skull phantom. However, he quickly looks in horror as he sees the airship, smoke coming out of the back, and falling towards the shoreline.

"WEISS!" Reaper yells and goes after her.

Weiss tries to slow down the falling airship with her glyphs, but they have little effect. Just before the ship crashes, Reaper manages to fly back into the airship and wraps his arms around Weiss, using his body as a shield before the airship crashes.

…

Back in Mistral, Ruby and Khazhak's group are having breakfast in the living room, making mild conversation before their training session later on.

"So, what was that loud bang earlier. It woke me right out of my sleep?" Jaune asks.

Voshkie'ahk's eyes widen a bit before she glances between Yukari and Khazhak, who eat like nothing ever happened.

"If didn't know any better, I'd say it sounded like Khazhak whenever he kicks a door open," Ruby notes.

"I was waking Voshkie'ahk up, and met Yukari along the way," Khazhak replies, keeping a few key details out of it.

"Sounds like Swan-girl here was making more trouble, again," Qrow notes with disdain.

"Is there ever a time when something vulgar doesn't come out of your mouth, you life-sized distillery," Yukari replies with just as much contempt.

"Will you two please stop?" Voshkie'ahk tries to be the voice of reason between the two.

"He/She started it," Qrow and Yukari reply together before glaring at each other.

"Wow, you sure know how to pick them, Voshkie'ahk," Nora jokes while eating some pancakes.

"Of course she does. Now if only we didn't get interrupted every time we try to be together like this morning," Yukari playfully pouts.

"What happened this morning... Wait, you two didn't do 'it' and then Khazhak walked in on you two, did he?" Nora teases them with a creepy smirk.

Voshkie'ahk coughs while sipping her tea, "N-N-NO! We didn't do anything! Nothing happened!" she retorts, blushing madly.

"Well, we could've done something if we had the time," Yukari teases her, making Khazhak crush the glass cup in his left hand like a toothpick.

"Oh, come on!" Yukari whines.

"We didn't do anything. 'IT' never happened! Just please, STOP!" Voshkie'ahk begs, her face a deep crimson.

"Um, what are you guys talking about?" Ruby asks, not getting it.

"I'll explain when you're older, kiddo," Qrow says.

…

Back outside Mistral, in Anima, Weiss slowly crawls out of the wrecked airship, weak and a little hurt from the crash.

"Reaper... where are you?" Weiss tries to call out. However, a pair of footsteps stop in front of her and she looks up to see one man with a rifle and another with a short blade. "Please, help" she pleads.

The two men smirk, "Well, what do you think?" one asks before they look back.

"I think..." a female voice begins until Raven Branwen steps up into view. "We just hit the jackpot," she notes. Weiss becomes very scared at that point and then Raven kicks her in the face, knocking her out. "Take the girl and her weapon. We're heading back to camp," Raven says.

"Weiss..." they hear a faint voice and Raven walks further into the debris to find Reaper lying on the ground, weak, and kneels next to him. "Raven..." he mutters with hate.

"Ah, I remember you. You're one of Khazhak's lackies. Reaper, was it?" Raven says, smirking.

"When Khazhak learns about this... He'll come for you," Reaper warns her.

Raven only chuckles as her smile gets a little bigger, "Oh, I'm counting on it," she says before she stands and kicks Reaper in the face, knocking him out as well. "Take this one as well. We can get a good price for the girl, and as for this one, something even better," Raven says.

The guy with the rifle kneels next to Reaper, "Heh, nice mask. Wonder what's behind it?" he mutters, only to get smacked on the back of the head. "Ow! What did I do?!" he asks.

"The mask stays ON. It's important, from what I gather, so leave it alone. Just grab the boy and let's get out of here before more Grimm show up," Raven orders him.

Following her orders, he picks Reaper up on his shoulder and grabs his weapon while Raven creates a portal for the group to pass through back to their camp.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Things just got a lot more complicated with Weiss and Reaper. Besides that, Yukari is starting to test Khazhak's patience a bit with his desire to look out for his younger sister. How long before he explodes? What will happen to Weiss and Reaper now? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	78. Chapter 73: Unpaid Debts

**Here we are at Chapter 73. Some training sessions going down in this one, in more ways than one. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 73. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 73: Unpaid Debts**

In Mistral, sounds of combat are heard as four individuals are fighting in hand-to-hand combat. Or rather, three are trying to fight in hand-to-hand combat, while the third is wiping the floor with them without much effort.

"This is starting to get a little hard to watch," Nora notes from the sidelines.

"Well, we never expected Khazhak to go easy on them. He's even taking it to Ruby without hesitation," Ren adds.

"Heh-heh, that's Khazhak for ya," Voshkie'ahk notes.

Out in the courtyard, Khazhak stands alone while Ruby, Oscar, and Jaune are standing a few feet away from him, breathing a little heavily from the semi-intense training session.

"Come on, you can do better than that. Do you want me to drop you guys all over again?" Khazhak asks, crosses his arms.

While the fight goes on, Yukari sits in a chair next to Ren and Nora, jotting things down in a design book as she gets ideas for Oscar's new combat outfit. The three take a moment to recompose themselves before they all charge at Khazhak. Ruby is the first to attack as she jumps into the air and goes to through a right punch at Khazhak. Khazhak simply sidesteps it before grabbing Ruby's arm and spinning her into Oscar, sending the two to the ground. Jaune holds his fists up and throws a few punches, but Khazhak bobs and weeves around each punch. Jaune then goes for a swing kick, but Khazhak blocks it and then sweeps Jaune off his left foot with a low sweep kick. Jaune lands on his back, but quickly rolls out of the way before Khazhak can smash his right foot down on his chest. Ruby and Oscar get back on their feet and run in opposite directions for a pincer attack on their opponent. Khazhak waits for them to get close and they both through another punch at him. However, Khazhak grabs both arms and pulls them hard, making Ruby and Oscar smack into each other, followed by Khazhak spin kicking them away.

 **"This is embarrassing,"** Bahamut notes.

"You need to be more unpredictable if you're going to get a decent blow on someone who's both skilled and experienced in hand-to-hand combat. Don't make it easy for me to read your moves," Khazhak instructs them.

The three fighters regroup once again and slowly start to walk around Khazhak, who remains stationary. A moment later, Ruby makes the first move as she rushes at him, before sliding across the ground to go for his legs. Khazhak jumps over her, and then catches a left cross from Oscar before tossing him aside. Jaune comes in a tackles Khazhak, wrapping his arms around him to keep him in place. However, Khazhak knees him in the face, forcing him to release Khazhak and allowing his opponent grab him and pull him in for a head-butt to the face, knocking Jaune back, and then finishes it with a roundhouse kick. Ruby attacks from behind, wrapping her arms around Khazhak in a sleeper hold. However, Khazhak leans down and grabs her, tossing her off of him. Just as Ruby gets back up, Khazhak throws a left uppercut to her torso, knocking her up and then throws a hard right cross to send her flying back. Oscar tires one more time to get a hit in on Khazhak, but Khazhak sees it coming a mile away and makes a grab at Oscar's face, picking him up and slamming him to the ground. Nora and Ren reel back, feeling the impact of that hit and worry if Oscar would be alright after that one.

 **"You think he would take it easy on them since they don't have much experience with this sort of thing,"** Tiamat notes.

"Oh trust me, he is taking it easy on them. If he wasn't, they would be in way worse shape right about now," Voshkie'ahk notes.

Khazhak just shakes his head before walking over to Ruby, "You okay, little rose?" he asks as he offers her a hand.

Ruby groans, "Ow, I thought you said it was duty to protect me?" she mutters in pain.

"It is, and that's why I'm doing this. The better you are at fighting both with and without a weapon, the better your chances of survival. Remember, you need to move with the right foot forward, use your speed and size to your advantage, and make sure your opponent can't figure out your next move before you make it. And try to be aware of any openings in your stance," Khazhak teaches her.

"...Got it," Ruby groans again as she takes the offered hand and gets up with Khazhak's help.

"As for you two..." Khazhak begins as he looks to see Jaune helping Oscar back on his feet. "Oscar's lack of experience clearly shows. We have a lot of work to do with you. And Jaune, your aura is strong, but if you rely on it too much, then even the strongest aura will falter if there is no offensive ability to balance it out. You need to work on your close-range combat techniques as well," Khazhak critiques the group.

"Well, all this is fun, but I need to get inside for a drink and to finish working on some ideas for Oscar's new outfit. Now then, if you'll excuse me," Yukari says before standing up and taking her leave.

"Well, with her gone, you can come out now, Ozpin," Khazhak says.

Oscar's eyes glow for a second before Ozpin takes over and he stands away from Jaune, "Yes, well, I deactivated Oscar's aura to help him try to learn how to activate it on his own in a fight. That's why he took a little more damage," Ozpin notes.

 _"Wait, what?! No wonder that hurt so much!"_ Oscar yells from within.

"It was to help you learn how to activate it. I thought this method would be better than simply telling you. Let me take over for now," Ozpin says as he eyes Khazhak.

Khazhak smirks a bit, "Oh, I've been waiting MONTHS for this," he says before raising his fists, as does Ozpin.

Ruby and Jaune step to the sidelines to watch the sparring match, but feel a sudden shift in the air. This match doesn't feel like a training session anymore. And when they look towards Khazhak, the look in his eyes has changed from those of a teacher... to those of someone who is pissed off.

"Very well then, "Ozpin replies and then makes the first move.

Ozpin runs at Khazhak, throwing a left uppercut which Khazhak blocks, followed by two punches that Khazhak deflects. Ozpin makes a roundhouse kick, but Khazhak grabs it and pulls him in for a knee shot to the ribs, followed by a left palm strike to his chest. Ozpin blocks by crossing his arms, but slides back from the attack.

"That felt a little more intense than before. You're not just sparring now, are you?" Ozpin asks.

"I told you Ozpin, I haven't forgotten our previous conversation back at Beacon. I told you that you would have to pay the price for your actions in Vale. The school, the Maiden... and most of all, Pyrrha," Khazhak says, making Jaune and Nora gasp while everyone else widen their eyes. "I told you that every choice has a cost, and now the time has come to pay for yours," Khazhak states and goes on the offensive.

Khazhak runs at Ozpin, ducking low for a sweep kick that Ozpin jumps over, followed by a low-high kick to his face that Ozpin just barely leans back to avoid. Khazhak throws a few crosses at him, forcing Ozpin to jump back and weave through them. Ozpin tries to retaliate by ducking low and striking Khazhak's chin with his skull, but Khazhak leans back to avoid it and then head-butts Ozpin in the face. Ozpin shakes it off and counters with a few more punches, but Khazhak catches one in his left hand and starts applying pressure on it, making Ozpin grit his teeth in pain.

"You kept so much from us. If you ever bothered to tell us what was going on, then maybe not as many innocent people would've died at the Fall of Beacon. How much suffering did my friends, and my comrades go through, just because of your games against this Salem?" Khazhak says while tightening his grip.

Ozpin throws a left kick, but Khazhak catches it in his right arm. He then picks him up into the air before slamming him down with a spine-buster. Ozpin rolls out of the way just as Khazhak throws a left punch, hitting the dirt instead of him. Ozpin regains himself and throws a roundhouse kick, but Khazhak blocks it and throws a hard front kick that Ozpin blocks once again while sliding back.

"I can't tell if it's because of Oscar's inexperience, or the fact that you haven't fought much in a while, but the fact remains that I've got the edge in this fight. That's what happens when you send others to do your dirty work for you. You get rusty. And as my father always said, you get rusty, you get dead," Khazhak notes.

"Khazhak, I know you're angry. You have every right to be, but you must understand, I was only doing what I thought was best for the people of Remnant. I didn't like it, but I did what I had to do. I am truly sorry about what happened to Pyrrha. I didn't want to bring her into this war with Salem. I didn't want to bring any of you into this-," Ozpin defends himself.

"Yeah, well, we can't always get what we want, huh Ozpin. Even if you didn't us involved, the fact remains that we are," Khazhak retorts.

Khazhk charges at Ozpin again, jumping into the air with his arms reeled back. Ozpin rolls out of the way just before Khazhak smashes his arms into the ground. Ozpin throws a punch that nails Khazhak in the face, but that only pisses him off more. Ozpin backflips away to get some distance between them. However, before Khazhak can make another move, Ruby gets in between them.

"Khazhak, that's enough!" Ruby says, arms outstretched at her sides. Khazhak stops and eases up a bit. "Look, I know you miss Pyrrha. So do I. So does everyone here. But taking it out on Ozpin won't help. We need to work together. Besides, you'd also be hurting Oscar in the process. He was never a part of what happened at the Fall of Beacon. Please, just calm down," Ruby pleads.

Khazhak stares between her and Ozpin standing behind her. A few moment later, he sighs and calms down.

"Fine. I didn't plan on killing him if that's what you were thinking. Oscar is innocent in this," Khazhak says.

Ruby lowers her arms, "Thank you, Khazhak," she replies.

Ozpin then gives control back to Oscar, who falls onto the ground, breathing heavily, "That was... exhausting...Can we...take a break now?" he asks in between deep breaths.

Khazhak just walks away while Ruby watches on with concern, as does everyone else.

 **"Was that truly necessary?"** Bahamut asks.

"I had to get it off my chest. I couldn't wait any longer," Khazhak mutters.

"What was all that about?" Oscar asks.

"I'll... tell you another time. It's... personal," Ruby replies sadly.

…

Later in the day, everyone is going about their business inside the house while Khazhak sits cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, eyes closed and deep in his thoughts. In his mind, he is standing in a vast darkness while Bahamut stands in front of him.

 **"Now then, try again,"** Bahamut instructs him.

Khazhak takes a deep breath before blue lightning starts to move across his body. It flows slowly around his limbs before focusing in on his left fist. The lightning continues to build before Khazhak releases it into the darkness.

"That one still didn't feel right," Khazhak notes.

 **"The power of the Dragon Spirit is unique among special gifts. Even more so for a human host. It taps into your semblance, amplifying it more and more as you learn to master this power,"** Bahamut says as he walks around Khazhak. **"If you wish to unlock the next level of the Dragon Spirit, you must focus that power towards something. A goal, an item, a person. If there is nothing driving that force, then there is no use for it. Simply willing it into existence is not enough. Now try again," he says. Khazhak takes another deep breath and activates his semblance again. "Feel the power of the dragon coursing through your body. You must learn to wield it, as more than just a man,"** Bahamut instructs him.

Khazhak lets the lightning flow around his body, the energy building slowly. Eventually, Khazhak starts to grit his teeth as he reaches his current peek, the lightning starting to surge around him. Clenching his fists, he tries to force it further. The lightning builds, and starts to get stronger than how Khazhak normally wields it. Bahamut watches as Khazhak begins to make some progress, but gets close to his limit.

 **"Enough,"** Bahamut says and Khazhak stops the exercise, taking a few deep breathes to calm himself. **"Forcing it won't help either. There is much conflict in you, Khazhak Rairyu. That conflict is holding you back. Your mind, on the outside, is like the calm before the storm. But I can see beyond the clouds, to where the true battle lies. There is much power within you Khazhak,"** Bahamut notes.

"I'm sensing a 'but'," Khazhak mutters.

 **"BUT, there is also much conflict within you. And I am not simply speaking about what happened earlier today. There is conflict from what happened in Vale... and conflict from long ago. Conflict that you refuse to allow anyone to aid you in,"** Bahamut adds.

"You're reading my mind now. Is that it?" Khazhak asks, a little annoyed.

 **"Well, I am inside your head, after all. However, even I know a thing or two about privacy. However, you must learn to let those conflicts out if you wish to unlock more of the Dragon Spirit's power. The Dragon Spirit is more than just power. It is the inner mystery of life. Only by fully unlocking yourself, can you unlock its true potential,"** Bahamut states.

"I don't have time for riddles, Bahamut," Khazhak retorts.

 **"Well, you will have to make time. But back on topic, you are making progress with the Dragon Spirit, if only a little. Progress further, and you will be able to unlock the next level of the Dragon Spirit. But remember, as always, it will not be without cost,"** Bahamut reminds him.

Khazhak opens his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I know," he mutters, looking out into the horizon beyond the courtyard of Yukari's home.

"Khazhak," he hears and looks behind him to see Ruby standing a few feet away. "Are you okay?" she asks, holding her hands together.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just talking with Bahamut, more or less," Khazhak replies as he looks back to the horizon.

Ruby sits next to him, "So, uh, how's the training going?" she asks.

"It's going, somewhat. Bahamut's not making it simple for me," Khazhak answers.

"I see... Hey, Khazhak... Are you angry with Professor Ozpin?" she asks the obvious.

Khazhak sighs, "He kept so much from us. I don't care what his reasons were, or that I may understand a few of those reasons. The fact remains, he kept secrets from us. If there's one thing I don't like, it's myself and my comrades being played for fools. Although I'm probably not much of one to talk. I've kept secrets myself, even from you," Khazhak says.

"Khazhak, we all have things that we're not comfortable talking about with others. That doesn't make you a bad person. It just makes you human," Ruby tries to comfort him.

"You know, you never once asked me about where I sent my teammates," Khazhak notes.

"That's because I know I can trust you. If you sent them somewhere, it's for a very good reason. I know you well enough now to know how you do things," Ruby says.

Khazhak grunts in amusement, "Is that right? Sorry if I was a little harsh earlier," he apologizes.

"It's okay. You're only hard on us because you want us to be ready. That's why we wanted you to help us with our training," Ruby says.

"You're really okay?" Khazhak asks.

Ruby sighs and cups Khazhak's face in her hands, making him look her right in the eye as their faces get a little closer, their foreheads just barely touching.

"Khazhak, it's fine. I understand you have a way of doing things. I trust you no matter what," Ruby soothes him.

"Okay...Thanks, Ruby," Khazhak replies.

Ruby leans back with a giggle, moving to lean her head on Khazhak's shoulder. Khazhak slowly leans his head on hers as they sit and watch the sun start to set.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A little short, but what can you do? Khazhak makes his feelings about Ozpin known, only for Ruby to be the calm in his storm once again. Meanwhile, the group's training is underway. What awaits them in the future? What about the other members of Teams RWBY and KEPL? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	79. Chapter 74: Unforeseen Complications

**Here we are at Chapter 74. Since we haven't seen them in a while, let's check on Porphyrius and Blake in Menagerie. I don't own RWBY. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 74. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 74: Unforeseen Complications**

In Menagerie, inside the Belladonna household, Ghira, wearing glasses, paces back and forth in the hall by the front entrance, looking at the documents for his speech. His wife Kali, his daughter Blake, Sun Wukong, and Porphyrius Darkwing all stand off to the side, waiting for him to be ready for this task. Ghira then stops pacing and takes one last look at the speech he has written down, before breathing a heavy sigh.

Kali places a supportive hand on his shoulder, "Are you ready?" she asks.

Ghira looks back at the documents, "Yes. It won't be easy for the people to hear, but the truth often isn't. I know they'll do the right thing," he says.

 _"If only it were that easy. But in my experience, people doing the right thing, especially if it means putting themselves at risk, is rarer than one might think,"_ Porphyrius thinks, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Blake joins them and places a hand on her father's arm, giving an affectionate snuggle. The three have a family moment before they are taken by surprise when another hand pats on Ghira's back. He looks behind to see Sun.

"You got this," Sun shows his own support.

"Way to ruin the moment, Sun," Porphyrius mutters. The three give a brief look at Sun as he stands back and smiles. Blake looks at Porhyrius, who nods to her, which she returns. Ghira then opens the doors as his family and friends step out of the home to greet the crowd gathering outside. Among the crowd are what appear to be journalists with cameras and news badges, along with others using their scrolls to record the speech. Others in attendance include Corsac and Fennec Albain, who bow their heads, as well as Saber Rodentia and other Menagerie Guards. Ghira steps up to the podium and raises his hand to quiet the crowd down.

"Thank you all for assembling here. I wanted to take time to address some of the rumors that have been circulating around our island. I believe that it is important for the people of this territory to understand the truth. No matter how you feel about the human race, I think we can all agree that the event now known as the Fall of Beacon was a tragedy. A tragedy that will set both man and Faunus-kind back. While the main aggressor is still unknown, we do have official confirmation that Adam Taurus...," Ghira begins, giving a subtle glare to the Albains. "-The leader of a powerful splinter group working inside the White Fang, was partially responsible for these attacks. His actions not only tarnished the reputation of an organization originally created to bring peace and equality to all, but to our entire race. With each day that this man remains unpunished, it becomes increasingly difficult to condemn those that look down upon us," he says. This causes the crowd to murmur and whisper with each other until Ghira raises his hand to quiet them one again. "Recently, a spy from the same splinter group set their sights on this very home. My own daughter, Blake, and her friends did their very best to apprehend this individual. While they were unsuccessful after being physically assaulted and, one of them seriously injured, they were successful in obtaining the assailant's scroll," Ghira explains as he takes out Ilia's scroll. "With this, we have been able to ascertain that Adam Taurus has plans to overthrow the current leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan, and take over the reins himself," Ghira further adds, making those in the crowd become worried. "His radical plans do not stop there, the documents on this scroll proclaim his next target to be Haven Academy and its attached CCT Tower. Their plan is to strike on the last full moon before the beginning of the Fall semester, roughly two months from today. I have sent my swiftest messenger to the government of Mistral, but I believe we have a greater responsibility. My relationship with the White Fang has been... an interesting one. Years ago, I led the organization to help try and create a world where I, and every Faunus who wished, could walk alongside the human race. And while I believe we made great strides toward this goal, it was made clear to me that the people both in and out of the White Fang wanted faster results. So I stepped down, and Sienna Khan was appointed as my successor. It's true that I do not fully condone many of her methods. What I do condone is what Sienna fights for: the idea that the Faunus and humans are, and should be, equal. Adam Taurus does not seem to have that goal in mind. What he has done benefits no one but himself. I think it's time that the Faunus showed the world that we are equals! Time that we snuff out this splinter group, and restore the White Fang to what it once was!" Ghira says with vigor, causing the crowd to cheer, sharing his energy. "To do this, I think the answer is clear, we must go to Haven and protect it at all costs!" Ghira declares. At this, the crowd suddenly stops cheering, showing some hesitance. Ghira sees this and clears his throat. "Before we proceed any further, I'd like to invite my daughter to come and share her story. Not only as a former member of the White Fang but also as a survivor of the Fall of Beacon. But not just her; I'd also like to invite her friend, Porphyrius Darkwing, to speak as well. I found out that Porphyrius was sent here by his leader, a human huntsmen-in-training from Beacon named Khazhak Rairyu, to watch over and protect my daughter. Like Blake, they were at the Fall of Beacon, fighting to protect their school, and each other because they were friends. Listen to their stories. Listen to my daughter, who has fought against what the White Fang has becom under Adam Taurus' leadership, and listen to Porphyius Darkwing, who was sent here by a human to protect my family," Ghira says and turns to them as they step up to the podium. "You two can do this," he says.

However, before they can speak, another voice calls out from the crowd.

"TRAITORS!" a female voice shoits.

They look to see Ilia uncloak herself, wearing her Grimm mask with a seething expression. Blake gives a surprised look before glaring back at her. Sun glares at her intensely, while Porphyrius readies his weapon.

"Ilia...," Sun mutters.

"Cowards... After everything the humans have done to us, everything they've put us through, you're asking us to help them?!" Ilia shouts in disbelief and anger.

"I know we haven't been treated fairly...," Ghira tries to calm her down.

"Where was their help when the Dust companies treated our people like slaves?! Where was their help when Kingdoms hunted Faunus just for being who they are?! Where was MY help when my parents were killed in a Dust mine?! WHERE?!" Ilia yells, her anger rising.

"Young lady, progress takes patience and cooperation," Ghira retorts.

"The Belladonnas are the worse kind of Faunus! They want us to work with the same people that are trying to hold us down! If you truly, TRULY want to help your people... now is the time to support Adam, not the Belladonnas! He will bring about the future that you deserve. And if you are unwilling to fight, know that the White Fang will do it for you!" Ilia speaks to the crowd.

"Is that your answer, then? To give in to anger and hate like Adam did" she hears new voice and looks over to see Porphyrius emerge from the crowd. "I know what it's like... to lose those you love because of what you are, to feel nothing but anger at those who did it to you, and to those who never once tried to help you," he says, raising his hand to his eyepatch for a moment. "For a long time, I felt nothing but anger, and I nearly let it consume me, not once, but twice. However, throughout my journey across Remnant, travelling with the members of Team KEPL, and meeting those whom I would call friend, and more, at Beacon Academy; I realized that I was wrong. I allowed my anger to control me, and it nearly costed the life of someone precious to me. It was then, and many other occasions, that helped me realize that as long as I allowed my hatred to control me, I would never be able to grasp the future, that it would always weigh me down. To be honest, I'm still trying to figure things out, I still have much to learn. But I do know one thing: to let your hatred consume you like it has to done to Adam Taurus will accomplish nothing in the end. It'll only make you no better than the Grimm, and prove the humans who ridicule the Faunus correct, that we are nothing more than monsters. Will you prove them right? Will you let your anger consume you? Or will you rise above that hate, and work to truly do what's best for your people?" Porphyrius says, loud enough for the crowd to hear him.

His words cause some of the Faunus around him to look at one another, thinking upon his words.

"...You... You would choose the humans over your own people? You would help the humans, even after everything they put you through, what they put our people through? You would work with those that betray our kind?!" Ilia retorts.

"No. I'd fight to prove those humans wrong; that the Faunus are indeed their equals... And for the record... I'm a half-Faunus," Porphyrius declares.

Gasps come from the crowd after hearing this. Some stare at Porphyrius with mixed emotions, while others are muttering about how a half-Faunus could even exist.

Ilia shows her shock as well, "You're a... half-Faunus... Then you are even worse than the humans since their blood runs through your veins. You're not just a traitor to your kind... You're an abomination to all of Remnant," Ilia says.

"Shut up!" Sun suddenly yells as he leaps towards Ilia, having snuck through the crowd during the earlier conversation.

Ilia, however, uses her weapon to get out of the way and flee. When Sun lands, he looks around to see where she has gone, but no sign of her is found.

"After her!" Saber yells as he and the rest of the Menagerie guards move to chase down Ilia, while Corsac and Fennec exchange evil smiles.

Blake and Ghira angrily glare from the stage, while Kali has a worried look on her face. Finally, Porphyrius watches the guards run after Ilia, a look of disappointment in his eyes.

…

Meanwhile, in Mistral, Voshkie'ahk Ryukado is in her room, sitting in a meditative position on her bed while she trains with Tiamat deep within her mind.

 **"That's it, my child. Let the energy flow around you. Feel it, don't try to control it,"** Tiamat instructs her.

Inside her mind, Tiamat's form takes shape. Her body is slightly smaller than Bahamut's, and is mainly white with a light green underbelly, wings, horns, and claws. Two pairs of horns sit upon the back of her head, pointing backwards with a slight curve to them. Her eyes glow bright green. The end of her tail as a fin-like structure going all around it.

"I can feel it, and yet at the same time, it feels so far away," Voshkie'ahk notes.

 **"Your connection with the Dragon Spirit is not like Khazhak and Bahamut's. You see, Bahamut was one of the strongest of our kind during our race's time, even stronger than myself. Not only that, but Khazhak unlocked his power in a different manner from yours. His connection to it is stronger than yours, however, that doesn't mean that you can't come to equal is control over it. You must simply continue your training,"** Tiamat explains.

Energy flows around Voshkie'ahk, however, her mind wanders for a moment when the energy gets close to her back, and then it starts to become less focused as she struggles with it.

 **"Enough,"** Tiamat says and Voshkie'ahk stops the flow. **"It seems that there is still much that you dwell on from your past, particularly with that scar going down across your back,"** Tiamat notes.

Voshkie'ahk glances at her back, "I'm sorry. I... rather not talk about it right now," she laments.

 **"Fear not child, I will not force it. That would only be counterproductive for us all. But, the longer you dwell on it, the more it will hold you back. Your past was indeed a troubling one, even if I do not know all the details. Some things are best left alone until one is ready to talk about them. I'm sure your brother has his own demons, ones that are preventing him from progressing further with his own power,"** Tiamat explains.

"I'm sorry," Voshkie'ahk apologizes.

 **"It is alright, my child. You are making progress. No two Dragon Spirits are completely alike. Their potential depends upon the dragon and the one the dragon dwells within. You will be able to unlock more of your power soon enough. There is still some time left before the next trial. However, I believe that will be enough for today... As a parting lesson though, you should be more aware of your surroundings, even when deep within your mind as we train,"** Tiamat says.

"Huh?" Voshkie'ahk asks, confused as she opens her eyes to reality.

It is then that she realizes what Tiamat meant, her cheeks turning a deep red, as she notices Yukari sitting behind her... rubbing Voshkie'ahk's hair against her cheeks and taking a long whiff of her scent.

"Ah yes, this is pure heaven. The feeling, the scent; all true beauty," Yukari swoons. Voshkie'ahk squeaks a bit and pulls her hair back, looking absolutely embarrassed. "Oh, you're awake. I was hoping to have a little more fun while you were meditating. You must've been really deep in thought since you never noticed me. At first, I was just brushing your hair, but then I got a little carried away, heh-heh," Yukari giggles.

Voshkie'ahk turns even more red, _"How did I not notice her coming?! This is ridiculous?!"_ she thinks.

Yukari leans closer, sliding her hand across Voshkie'ahk's right cheek, "You know, I could always do more than just brush your hair, if you want. I'm sure I can help you in all sorts of ways," she says seductively, making steam start to come out of Voshkie'ahk's ears.

"YUKARI, NO!" Voshkie'ahk yells.

…

Back in Menagerie, it is late in the evening and things aren't going as well as what the Belladonna's were hoping. Thanks to Ilia's display, the Faunus of Menagerie seem even more hesitant to help them protect Haven Academy. There are also a few concerns regarding how the populace feels about Porphyrius revealed his origins as a half-Faunus, and if that made some Faunus feel even more apprehensive about joining them.

"So, what should we do now?" Sun asks.

"We can't force the people to join us. We'll have to take some time with gathering volunteers. What I suggest is that you, Blake, and Porphyrius go out through the town asking anyone who will help us to do so. The more we can rally to our cause, the more it may cause others to join with them. That stunt with the White Fang simply didn't help matters," Ghira explains.

Meanwhile, outside Ghira's study, Blake and Porphyrius look out into the night, with much on their minds.

"You sure it was a good idea to reveal the truth about yourself to them? I mean, after what you've been through before?" Blake asks.

"The Faunus of Menagerie need to know what they're getting themselves into. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I told you before, I don't care what people think about me being a half-Faunus. There are more important things to worry about. Your little friend, Ilia, certainly didn't help the situation. You still don't see her as an enemy?" Porphyrius asks.

"She's a good person, Porphyrius. She's just... lost. Like so many other Faunus that are following the White Fang and Adam. I still believe that there's hope for her," Blake says.

"So... you believe there's hope for Ilia... but you still left Yang, what- because there was no hope for her?" Porphyrius says.

"That is NOT true. I just... the one thing I didn't want to happen, DID happen. I know you said that my teammates are heading for Haven, just like us, and I WILL go there. I just don't know what they're gonna think if we see each other again," Blake says, feeling a little down.

"When Khazhak says he'll do something, he does it. They'll be there. As for what you'll do when that happens, that's for you to decide. Just don't go making the same mistake again, because Khazhak is not the merciful type," Porphyrius warns her.

"I told you Porphyrius... I'm done running," Blake replies.

Porphyrius grunts, "If you say so. For now, we have to focus on what we can do here. But you should know, the White Fang won't just let us do what we want. They'll try to stop us, and they'll do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal. Just be ready for when they do, because I won't show any mercy to them, including Ilia," Porphyrius says before he turns and leaves, leaving Blake to look out into the night, with even more on her mind.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Blake and Porphyrius continue their efforts in Menagerie, but the White Fang will not make it easy for them. Meanwhile, Voshkie'ahk, like Khazhak, continues her training with Tiamat, and dealing with Yukari's antics. The next chapter will focus mainly on Voshkie'ahk and Yukari, with a little bit of Weiss and Reaper. Will Porphyrius and Blake get the Faunus of Menagerie to join them? Will Yukari ever learn the idea of personal space for Voshkie'ahk's sake? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	80. Chapter 75: A Little Fun

**Here we are at Chapter 75. This one is a special one whose primary focus will be on Voshkie'ahk and Yukari. I do not own RWBY. They belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 75. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 75: A Little Fun**

In Menagerie, Voshkie'ahk is currently dueling against Ren, the silent ninja firing off his guns as he runs at her in the courtyard. The rest of the group, including Yukari, watch on from the sidelines. Voshkie'ahk, using her semblance to harden her cards, has them out like fans and blocks the bullets. When Ren gets close, Voshkie'ahk swings her cards at him, but he jumps over her and lands behind her. He spins and takes a swing with his blades, but Voshkie'ahk moves her cards behind her to block them. She then throws a card to the ground, exploding and freezing Ren's feet to the ground with ice, and then swings her cards to knock his weapons out of his hands, ending it up with the sharpened edges of her cards aimed at his throat.

Ren sighs and holds up his hands, "Very well. I concede," he admits defeat. Voshkie'ahk smirks and lowers her cards, her ice deforming and freeing Ren's feet. "You really were trained personally by Ruby's uncle, weren't you," he notes.

"While Master Qrow is a drunk, he is a skilled huntsman and a good teacher... most of the time," Voshkie'ahk notes as she puts her cards away.

"Ooooh, that's my darling!" Yukari cheers, making Voshkie'ahk blush a bit.

"Alright, I think that's enough for now. Let's get inside and start preparing dinner," Ruby says.

The group walk inside, but as they do, Yukari swoops in and wraps her arms around Voshkie'ahk's right arm.

"You really have been training hard, haven't you," Yukari says.

"Well, yeah, I mean, we have an important mission ahead of us, so..." Voshkie'ahk trails off.

"While I know you're busy and have things do to, we haven't been together in a long time. Do you think we could have a date tomorrow? A little time off for just the two of us?" Yukari asks.

"Yukari... I would really like that, but I don't know if that's possible right now. There's just so much going on, and..." Voshkie'ahk looks away.

"Oh, come on, please, for me!" Yukari starts to beg.

"I, um, uh..." Voshkie'ahk stutters.

Yukari steps away, "Oh, boo. And here I was hoping to spend some more time with you. Oh, well," she says, looking a little sad as she walks away.

Voshkie'ahk now feels a little guilty, but then gets an idea. A few minutes later, she brings Oscar into the living room when no one else is around and has him sit on the couch. Then, she pulls out her scroll, and dials a number on it. A moment later, someone answers.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Qrow says on the other end.

Voshkie'ahk hands the scroll to Oscar, "I need to speak to Master Qrow, and Professor Ozpin, if you wouldn't mind," Voshkie'ahk asks.

"Um, okay," Oscar says and a moment later, Ozpin takes over as his eyes glow green.

"What is this about, Miss Ryukado?" Ozpin asks.

"Kid, what's up?" Qrow asks again.

"Listen, I know things are a little hectic right now, and I know we have an important mission ahead of us, but I was hoping... if you would let me have the day off tomorrow so I could go out with Yukari?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"A date? Now of all times? Come on, kid, we've got more important things to worry about than that trap queen's love story. You know that," Qrow rejects the proposition.

"Look I know I'm asking much, but please. I haven't had a chance to be with her in a long time. Just for one day... please," Voshkie'ahk pleads as she bows her head, practically begging now.

"Hmm... very well," Ozpin says.

"What?!" both Voshkie'ahk and Qrow say at the same time.

"I don't see why we shouldn't let you take a little time to be with your girlfriend. There's still time before the fall semester at Haven begins. One day won't hurt anyone," Ozpin says.

Voshkie'ahk smiles, "Thank you, Professor Ozpin. Thank you! I'm going to go tell Yukari!" Voshkie'ahk says and quickly leaves the room.

"Are you sure about this, Oz?" Qrow asks.

"Voshkie'ahk is more skilled than Ruby and her friends, aside from Khazhak. Like I said, there's little left I can teach her. Besides, we need to remember that times such as these are important to treasure and protect. I believe she's earned herself a reward for working so hard. Let her have her time with Yukari. We don't know what will happen down the road we walk upon, after all," Ozpin explains.

Qrow groans a bit, "Fine, whatever. As long as she keeps the she-devil as far away from me as possible," he says.

Ozpin chuckles, "And on that note, I'd better return Miss Ryukado's scroll. It seems she's forgotten all about it. Keep up with your search for other huntsmen, Qrow," he says.

"Will do," Qrow replies before hanging up on his end, none of them noticing Khazhak listening in on their conversation from the shadows.

…

The next day, while Voshkie'ahk was indeed excited to be going on a date with Yukari after so long, she's now starting to have some doubts.

"Yukari, there are people watching us," Voshkie'ahk mutters.

"Oh, forget about them. I'm just glad I get to go on a date with you. Who cares if some people stare at your beauty," Yukari says, a huge smile on her face as she walks with Voshkie'ahk through the city, her arms wrapped around Voshkie'ahk's.

"I'm just not used to all this attention, that's all. Can't we go somewhere a little less conspicuous?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"Nope, now first thing's first: let's go shopping!" Yukari cheers, pulling Voshkie'ahk along with her.

However, hiding in the shadows, or in one alley they passed, is Khazhak, along with Ren and Jaune.

"Why are we out here again? Professor Ozpin's gonna be upset that we're not around for training," Jaune asks.

"I think it's pretty obvious why we're here. Khazhak's big brother instincts are going off because his little sister is out on a date," Ren notes, only to notice Khazhak crush the corner of the building with his left hand.

Jaune and Ren get spooked, seeing a subtle look of irritation in his eyes.

"I'm... fine," Khazhak replies, though they don't believe him, but say nothing anyway.

Back with Voshkie'ahk and Yukari, the pair enter a clothing store for women, and quickly the occupants notice the 'Swan of Style' walking into the store. How could they not, most of the products they sell are her work after all. Even more so is the girl she's coming in with.

"Now then, let's try on some of these first. I absolutely have to see you in a yukata!" Yukari cheers as she pulls Voshkie'ahk along.

"Wait, what?!" Voshkie'ahk gasps to no avail.

Voshkie'ahk is suddenly thrust into one of the dressing stalls, with Yukari giving her several clothing items to try on (how'd she get so many so fast?). First, Voshkie'ahk comes out wearing a white summer dress with yellow sunflower designs on the skirt, and a yellow belt. Next, she comes out wearing a black and white dress with a short frilly skirt, white sleeves, black stockings and garters, and a pair of small, white bows in her hair. The third outfit is white kimono with gold dragon and flower designs through the dress, a gold belt, and a white flower in Voshkie'ahk's hair. All the time, Voshkie'ahk is embarrassed, but shows a slight smile.

"Oooh, you look absolutely precious!" Yukari coos.

"Y-Yukari, please, I don't usually dress like this," Voshkie'ahk says, hiding her blushing cheeks behind the sleeves of her kimono.

"Oh don't worry, Voshkie'ahk, we still have plenty of other places to go to," Yukari says.

"W-What?!" Voshkie'ahk stammers.

After paying for the clothes, the two leave the clothing store to head to their next destination, with Khazhak's group close behind them.

"Should we really be spying on them while they're on their date. I feel like some kind of stalker here," Jaune notes.

Khazhak walks right up to him, grabs his collar, and pulls his face close to his own.

"We leave when I say we leave. Understood?" Khazhak says, leaving no room for debate.

"U-U-Understood, sir," Jaune replies, gulping while Ren just gives a shaky nod.

"Good, now let's go," Khazhak says before leaving, with the two scared boys following him.

Yukari and Voshkie'ahk walk into another clothing store, only this time it was for women's lingerie, much to Voshkie'ahk's embarrassment.

"Y-Yukari, why are we in a store like this?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"Well, while I would love to have you try on some underwear for me, even I know what lines not to cross. However, I do need some new underwear for myself, so I was hoping you could help me out," Yukari says, winking at her.

"How exactly am I supposed to help you out?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"Which do you think would look better on me: the white or the blue?" Yukari asks, ignoring Voshkie'ahk's question as she pulls out two sets of lingerie, each the same style, but in the aforementioned colors.

Suddenly, the images of Yukari in those outfits, with the straps falling down her shoulders, her body lying on a bed in a seductive pose, beckoning with a single finger for her to come over, appear in Voshkie'ahk's mind. Honestly, she was very tempted to make that dream a reality. However, she comes back to her senses and notices something behind Yukari.

"I... I think I prefer that one," Voshkie'ahk says, pointing to another set of lingerie.

This pair is a dark purple, with stockings and garters, and looks even more... mature, than what Yukari showed earlier.

Yukari shows a big smirk, "Oh, so THAT'S your taste. Very well, just give me a second," Yukari says before taking the third pair to a dressing room. Voshkie'ahk waits patiently, feeling a few subtle glances from the other customers in the store. "Um, Voshkie'ahk, could you come here for a second? I think there's an issue with the bra straps," she hears Yukari say from behind the curtains.

"Um, okay," Voshkie'ahk replies and walks up to the dressing stall. "What's wro-AH!" Voshkie'ahk says when she's suddenly pulled into the dressing stall with her.

She then sees Yukari in the purple lingerie, and turns a deep crimson. The clothing wraps perfectly around her chest and waist, while doing a great job of showing off her curves. The stockings really make her thighs pop out, and the dark purple makes her smooth skin look a little brighter. It takes everything Voshkie'ahk's got to not pass out from the beauty in front of her, even more so because of their close proximity to one another, as Yukari has both her arms on either side of Voshkie'ahk's head, hands on the wall.

"Y-Y-Y-Yukari!" Voshkie'ahk squeaks a bit.

"So Voshkie darling, how do I look?" Yukari asks seductively, moving just a little bit closer and barring Voshkie'ahk from escape.

"W-W-Well, I think... y-y-you look r-really n-nice," Voshkie'ahk stutters.

"Really nice'? Is that all, Voshkie darling? Or maybe I need to step it up a bit," Yukari says, pulling her hair out of her ponytail, with some of the strands falling across her shoulders, adding to her allure.

"It's... well... Ah, you look stunning, okay!" Voshkie'ahk almost yells out.

Yukari chuckles, "Hm-hm-hm, thank you darling. Now, how about you help me test it out a bit," Yukari says as she moves closer, forcing Voshkie'ahk up against the wall, and her body up against her girlfriend's.

"Wait, we can't do anything like that here. We're in public!" Voshkie'ahk starts to freak out.

"Oh, come now Voshkie darling, don't tell me you haven't had any fantasies like this once and a while. Come on," Yukari begins and leans close to her ear. "I can be VERY good at making those fantasies come to life," she whispers, giving Voshkie'ahk a slight lick on her earlobe, making Voshkie'ahk squeal.

Just then, they hear something crash outside, and Voshkie'ahk glances out of the curtain to see one of the windows shattered, a large rock seen inside as the culprit.

"What was that about?" Voshkie'ahk mutters.

"Oh, and yet again, we're interrupted. Boo," Yukari pouts, puffing her cheeks.

"Just please put your clothes back on, and let's go," Voshkie'ahk pleads, hanging her head in exhaustion.

Meanwhile, outside the store, Jaune and Ren are shaking as they see Khazhak steaming, doing his best to keep his cool while his left fist shakes.

"Um, was it really necessary to throw a rock through the window?" Ren asks.

"Just shut up and let's get moving. Or else the next thing I throw through a window will be your detached skull," Khazhak says, grinding his teeth a little bit.

 **"You know you're being a little ridiculous, right?"** Bahamut notes.

"Shut up," Khazhak says.

"Do you think we should do something about him?" Jaune asks.

"Probably," Ren replies.

"Are we going to?" Jaune asks again.

"NOPE," Ren replies, popping the 'p'.

A little while later, Voshkie'ahk and Yukari head into a local café for some drinks and maybe a few pastries as well, while Khazhak's group stay outside but keep an eye out. Inside the café, Yukari and Voshkie'ahk find a booth a little towards the back and order some tea for starters.

"So, enjoying yourself so far, Voshkie darling?" Yukari asks.

"You mean other than you putting me in embarrassing situations and nearly making me pass out while we were at that lingerie store because you went a little overboard again, who knows," Voshkie'ahk begins as she holds her tea cup, but then shows a soft smile. "...But, it is nice, getting to spend time with you again, Yukari. It certainly has been a while," she notes.

"Well, it is hard to schedule little play dates when you're so busy these days," Yukari says.

Immediately Voshkie'ahk gets concerned, "I'm sorry Yukari. You know it isn't like I don't want to see you, it's just-," she says quickly until Yukari places a hand on hers.

"I'm just teasing you, dear. I know you're work is important. I knew what I was getting into when I decided to be with you. It's okay. Your work is dangerous, and I know there are things you can't talk about, but as long as you come back to me, I don't care. I just want to make sure my Voshkie'ahk is alive and well and comes back to see me again," Yukari calms her worries.

Voshkie'ahk sighs with relief, "Thank you Yukari... To be honest, I was a little worried my brother would try and kill you when we arrived at your house," she says.

"Yes, he did seem a little... tense. I'll be sending him a bill for the holes in my wall, and for the tea cup, and for the door hinges he destroyed," Yukari deadpans, making Voshkie'ahk nervously laugh a bit. "Well, at least it shows that he's an older brother that cares about his little sister. I'm happy that you two were able to reunite," she says, smiling.

Voshkie'ahk returns the smile, "Yes, as am I. Things are crazy right now because of work, but when our mission is over, we can take the time to really reconnect again as siblings," she says, but then notices Yukari pouting a bit. "And yes, I'll be sure to make more time to see you again," she concedes, making Yukari smile with a giggle.

Outside the store, Khazhak, Ren, and Jaune watch from a distance as the girls have their date.

"You're really taking this big brother thing all the way to the top, huh," Jaune notes.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. It's not like Voshkie'ahk is some damsel in distress; she's a capable fighter, given how she was able to beat me easily the other day," Ren adds.

Khazhak sighs, "It's not that. I know Voshkie'ahk can take care of herself, and I'm sure Yukari is a good person. It's just... I nearly lost my sister once. I don't want to lose her again, for real this time around," he admits.

Jaune places a hand on his shoulder, "Some people do deserve the benefit of the doubt, Khazhak. But aside from that, I think you're being a really good big brother here. As a guy who grew up with seven sisters, trust me when I say that I know a thing or two in that regard," he says.

Khazhak grunts in amusement, "Is that right? Well... thanks," he says.

"But still, I'm sure Nora and Ruby would get a kick out of this if they knew. I bet they would think you'd have some kind of sister complex or... something..." Jaune trails off as Khazhak gets right in his face, looking angry again.

Khazhak picks him up by his hoodie and hoists him up, "Breath a single syllable of this to ANYONE, and you and I are going to have a little arrangement... Where I arrange your damn funeral," he warns him.

Jaune quickly holds his hands up in surrender, "My lips are sealed! I won't say a word! Just please, don't bury me!" he screams like a little girl.

Khazhak drops him on his butt, "Good. Let's go. I think we should be heading back now. It'll be getting late soon, and I don't want my sister to think I was spying on her whole date," he says and walks off, with Ren and a scared Jaune following close behind him.

The rest of Voshkie'ahk and Yukari's date goes off without a hitch and when it gets a little late, the two head home after a wonderful day off together.

"I had a great time, Yukari. Thanks again for the idea," Voshkie'ahk says as they enter the house.

"Of course, anything for my little Voshkie darling. I'd better put these away before dinner gets started," Yukari says, giving Voshkie'ahk a peck on the cheek before heading up to her room along with their shopping bags.

"You never once spoke during my date, Tiamat," Voshkie'ahk says.

 **"I wanted to give you some privacy, my child. You deserved a little rest, and I didn't want to spoil it,** " Tiamat replies.

"Well... thank you, Tiamat," Voshkie'ahk says and then heads back to her room to find Khazhak sitting on his bed, polishing his blade.

"You're back, I see. How was the date?" Khazhak asks, like nothing ever happened.

"It was great... Though I'm sure you knew that already," Voshkie'ahk says, crossing her arms.

"Figured as much. You really are my sister," Khazhak mutters.

Voshkie'ahk looks a little annoyed that her own brother followed her throughout her date with Yukari, but eventually shows a small smile and walks over to kiss her brother's cheek.

"Thanks for worrying, and for looking out for me," she says.

Khazhak grunts, "That's what brothers do, right? That's what family is for," he says, smiling back.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Voshkie'ahk and Yukari finally have a date after so long, and Khazhak shows his brotherly side for a little laugh. We'll be seeing more of the other members of Teams RWBY and KEPL in the next chapter. Will Khazhak ever get to like Yukari? What crazy ideas does Yukari have in store for Voshkie'ahk next? What about everyone else? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	81. Chapter 76: Master and Apprentice

**Here we are at Chapter 76. First off, to answer some of your questions: 1: we will learn more about Khazhak and Raven's history in this volume. 2: we'll learn more about Reaper's past and a lot more about Khazhak's past in volume 6. and 3: we'll learn more about Lloyd's past in volume 7. Time for a little history lesson in this chapter. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Rooserteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 76. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 76: Master and Apprentice**

In Mistral, Khazhak stands outside in the courtyard, standing up against the railing with his arms crossed.

 **"There is much on your mind, it seems,"** Bahamut notes.

"Yes, the Fall semester is approaching, and we still haven't been fully prepared to go after the Spring Maiden. And Lionheart certainly isn't helping the situation," Khazhak notes.

 **"Well, nothing important in life ever comes easy. I'm sure you of all people would understand,"** Bahamut says.

"Hey, Khazhak," they hear from behind and Khazhak glances back to see Ruby walking up to him. "Everything okay?" she asks as she stands next to him.

"I'm fine. Just talking with Bahamut," Khazhak replies, but then notices Ruby fidgeting with her fingers a bit, and sighs. "If you want to ask me something, just go ahead and ask, little rose," he says.

"Heh-heh-heh, that obvious, huh... I was wondering: how do you know Yang's mom exactly? I mean, how did you two meet?" Ruby asks.

Khazhak look back out into the sky, "It happened a few years ago, before I started looking for my teammates. I was in Anima when I noticed smoke rising into the sky one night. I ran towards it only to discover it was a village being attacked by bandits, HER bandits. I wasn't as strong then as I am now, but I was able to fend them off for the most part. My priority was giving the villagers that hadn't been killed yet time to escape. It was then that I met Raven Branwen. I tried to fight her, but she was too strong, and I was easily defeated. She could've killed me then too, but instead asks if I'd like to join her tribe. I would never stoop as low as to kill innocent, defenseless people, so I spitefully refused. This only seemed to interest her even more, and then she asked if I wanted to kill her. Of course, I said yes, and then she smiled. She said 'Then I'll train you. Every time we meet, I'll help you with your training, and help you become strong enough to, maybe, one day stand against me. I want to see you reach your potential. Just consider me as your master from this point on, my apprentice'. Ever since then, she would use her semblance to appear before me every now and then. Each time we'd fight, and I'd lose, but each time I would be able to put up more of a fight. I at least have some respect for her due to her skills as a warrior, but I have no respect for how and why she uses those skills, to hurt innocent people. Aside from that Tyrian guy we faced a while back, she's the first and only person to have defeated me in battle. I've considered her my master, but only in that she's my teacher, and that is all. I hate the kind of person she is, and what she does, and one day I will take her down... So now you know; the connection between me and Raven. However, she is no longer my master. That role belongs to you, Ruby," Khazhak finishes his story before he looks back to her.

 **"Interesting, so that's how you two met and became what you are,"** Bahamut notes.

"So that's how you met her. But wait, if your main goal is to take her down, then why is she helping you become stronger?" Ruby asks.

"I'm not sure I fully know myself. She said she sees potential in me, and knows that I've killed before. Maybe she hopes to one day convince me to join her tribe. Of course, that will never happen. Or she's just bored and wants a strong opponent to fight. The reason why doesn't matter in the end. What matters is that she has the Spring Maiden and we need to get her. I can take down Raven's tribe by myself without much trouble. Raven and the Maiden will be the real problem. However, I won't lose the next time we fight her. This time, she's going down," Khazhak explains.

Ruby gets a little concerned, "Are you sure you want to fight her? That you can beat her?" she asks.

"Do I want to fight her? Yes. Can I beat her? Honestly, I don't know. But that won't stop me from trying. However, one thing I am certain of is that if she wants to hurt you, Ruby, then she's gonna have to go through me," he says.

This makes Ruby feel more relieved and she smiles, "Thank you, Khazhak. That makes me feel a little better. Just so you know, it won't just be you protecting me. I'll be protecting you as well. That's what a team is all about, right?" she says as she holds his right hand.

"Yeah... you're right. Thanks, Ruby," Khazhak mutters, showing a small smile.

The two are caught in the moment and start to slowly lean closer to one another. However, that plan quickly changes.

"Hello! What's taking you guys so long?!" they hear Nora shout from the house. "Come on, dinner's almost ready. Ren's making pancakes, and I will not let you hold up the queen of pancakes from claiming what is hers. Come on, chop, chop!" she shouts before she runs back into the house.

Khazhak and Ruby separate from one another, blushing, before they decide to head back inside before Nora eats all of the pancakes and leave nothing for them.

...

Meanwhile, at night somewhere in Anima, Weiss slowly wakes up to find herself trapped in a cage and her wrists bound by rope.

"Weiss, you're awake. I'm glad you're alright," she hears and looks to see Reaper sitting next to her.

Weiss quickly sits up, "Reaper, you're okay!" she says, happy that her dear friend is alright.

"Yes, I'm okay, for the most part," Reaper says, gesturing to his bound hands and his lack of his weapon, the same as Weiss.

Weiss then looks around and notices the bandits from earlier that took them, sitting by some crates with a fire. One of them is drinking while keeping Reaper's twin scythe with him, while the other notices Weiss waking up.

"Well, well, well, look who's awake," one of the bandits says, smirking.

"Wha... what's going on? Where are we?" Weiss asks Reaper.

"We've been captured by bandits and taken hostage at their camp, unfortunately," Reaper answers her.

"Wait, did they..." Weiss begins as she stares at his mask.

"No, luckily they didn't remove it, it seems. Too bad they DID remove our weapons from our possession," Reaper notes.

"You know..." they hear a female voice and look to see a woman exiting a nearby tent, carrying Weiss' weapon in her hand. The female is a young woman with tan-colored skin, short brown hair and icy blue eyes. She has a tattoo of a bird rising from flowers on her left arm. She is wearing a brown vest over a torn white shirt, with a collar that appears to spike up behind her neck. She has on maroon-colored pants with the right side rolled up to her thigh. She is also wearing dark brown knee guards that go down to her brown boots. "I never thought I'd see a Schnee in this camp. Your little friend there with the mask is certainly an interesting sight as well around here," she says.

"Vernal!?" one of the bandits says as they suddenly stand at attention.

Vernal walks over to the cage, holding Myrtenaster in her hand. Weiss and Reaper stand up, while Vernal captor admires her weapon.

"What do you want?" Weiss demands with a glare, showing no fear to them.

"Straight to the point. I like it. We don't normally deal in trafficking people - not really worth our time. But, once we realized we had a Schnee, that changed. And the boss believes she can make use of skull boy here as well," Vernal says, pointing to them with the rapier.

"You're going to ransom me back to my father, is that it?" Weiss asks, knowing the answer.

"It's a shame you're a Schnee. You'd probably do quite well around here. The boss also said that she knows your little boyfriend here has killed some people as well. He'd probably feel right at home around here," Vernal notes.

"I would NEVER sink to your level," Weiss retorts.

"And while I have killed people, they were hardly innocent, unlike the villages you've attacked and destroyed. I don't spill innocent blood," Reaper stands with her.

Vernal then frowns, "Just keep quiet and cooperate and you'll be back in your mansion before you know it. As for you, mask boy, do as our leader says, and you MAY live to see your next birthday. She believes she can get some use out of you, but if that turns out not to be the case, well... Just don't make this complicated," Vernal tells them before she decides to turn around and leave.

However, Weiss stops her, "What's going to make this complicated is when my sister finds out I didn't make it to Mistral. You know my sister, don't you? Winter Schnee? Special Operative of the Atlas Military? She's in Mistral now, and when she hears I'm missing, it won't take her long to find us - and you," Weiss says. However, this only makes the two bandits from behind to start laughing, leaving Weiss confused. "What's so funny?" she asks, angry.

Vernal turns around, laughing a bit, "Oh, I don't know if it's more funny or sad, but you're clearly out of the loop. Your sister isn't in Mistral anymore. No Atlas personnel are in Mistral anymore. General Ironwood closed the borders and recalled all his little troops and tin cans. No one is coming to rescue you two," she says.

"Maybe no one from Atlas, but there is ONE person who will come for us," Reaper says, stepping forth.

Vernal loses her smile a bit, "And that would be?" she asks as she steps closer to the cage.

"My leader, Khazhak Rairyu. When he learns that we are here, he'll burn this whole compound down if it means rescuing us," Reaper says.

However, the bandits laugh again, "Ha-ha-ha, I highly doubt one measly kid can do anything to us," Vernal replies. However, now it is Reaper who is laughing, leaving everyone, including Weiss, confused. "What's so damn funny?" she demands.

Reaper calms down, "Heh-heh-heh, you mean you actually. Now who's out of the loop. I guess your leader, Raven Branwen, never told you. When Khazhak learns that we're here, he'll come for us – and for you. And when he does, your tribe will get a whole lot smaller. After all... Khazhak is Raven's apprentice," he declares.

This shocks everyone around him, "You're bluffing," Vernal retorts.

"Oh, how sad for you. If you don't believe me, then go ask your boss yourself. But... if I'm telling the truth, then ask yourself this: when Raven's apprentice comes, how many of your people will he kill to get to us? Can you really afford such losses?" Reaper asks, smirking behind his mask.

Vernal just glares at him for a moment before she leaves, while the other two bandits just glance at each other in worry. Reaper and Weiss retreat to the other side of the cage, with their backs to the bandits to have a more private conversation.

"What was that back there?" Weiss whispers to Reaper.

"A little play to hopefully buy us some time while we plan our escape. I have no intention of staying in here for too long like some caged rat," Reaper says.

"No, not that. What do you mean that Khazhak is their leader's apprentice?" Weiss asks.

"It's a complicated story. The basic gist of it is that their leader defeated Khazhak long ago, and so far she is the only person to have ever defeated him in battle. Since then, she comes around to offer him lessons, even as he was recruiting members to his team, starting with me. Each time they would fight, and each time he would lose. It is one of Khazhak's personal goals to become strong enough to defeat her one day," Reaper explains.

"So... he's not one of them?" Weiss asks.

"Never. Khazhak respects their leader because she's a skilled warrior, but that's where the respect ends. He hates her for being a bandit, along with the rest of her tribe, and hates that they hurt innocent people. However, he knows that he can't stop them until he becomes strong enough to defeat their boss. The underlings, he can handle easily, but even if he did, more would just soon join their ranks to replace them. He needs to cut off the head of the snake, and to do that, he needs to become stronger. So, he became her apprentice, but only in order to one day bring her down. She is aware of this, and helps him become stronger, while at the same time, tries to get him to join her. Of course, that will never happen. It's a complicated relationship, if you will," Reaper explains.

"But... can Khazhak defeat her?" Weiss asks, concerned.

"Honestly... I don't know, but right now our main concern is figuring a way out of our current predicament," Reaper replies as they look out into the night sky.

…

Back in Mistral, the night sky has taken over the skies over the kingdom, with the people beginning to either head home or turn in for the night. At the home that Ruby's group is staying at, Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk sleep soundly in their room... Or at least one of them is. Voshkie'ahk starts turning a bit in her sleep, her closed eyes straining and a bead of sweet falling from her forehead. She is having a nightmare.

 _"Please... stay away!... Don't hurt Voshkie'ahk... I don't want to fight you... Big brother, NO!"_ Voices echo in her head before Voshkie'ahk's eyes shoot open wide.

She breathes heavily as she tries to calm down.

 **"Are you alright, my child?"** Tiamat asks, but Voshkie'ahk doesn't answer.

She sits up and looks to see Khazhak's back to her, seemingly still asleep. Silently getting out of bed and grabbing a pillow, she quietly leaves the room. However, after she does, Khazhak turns over on his bed, eyes open, revealing he had been awake the whole time.

 _"So, she's still having those nightmares. If only I... If I was..."_ Khazhak thinks as he stares at the ceiling.

 **"Is there something troubling your sister?"** Bahamut asks.

"None of your concern. Just a ghost from our past," Khazhak says before he rolls over and tries to go back to sleep.

Voshkie'ahk walks to Yukari's room next door and finds the room key hidden under the welcome mat in front of the door. Unlocking it, she slowly opens the door and walks in to find Yukari, sound asleep. She walks over to her and shakes her shoulder a bit to wake her up. It works as Yukari groans a bit before she opens her eyes.

"Huh? Voshkie darling, what's wrong?" she asks as she wakes up.

Voshkie'ahk holds the pillow close to her chest, "Yukari... can I sleep with you tonight, please?" she asks.

Yukari can see the look in her eyes. Those eyes aren't of the strong, or embarrassed Voshkie'ahk that she loves. Rather, they are the eyes of a scared young girl looking for some comfort, and not in the mood for any funny business.

Yukari shows a small smile and opens up the bed sheets for her, "Sure. Come here," she says.

Voshkie'ahk gets under the covers with her and lays close to her as she fixes her pillow. Yukari pulls her into her arms. Voshkie'ahk snuggles close to her, and Yukari can feel her trembling a bit, but not from the cold.

"It's okay, my darling. I'm here. I'm here," Yukari whispers sweet nothings to her as Voshkie'ahk begins to fall asleep again.

She rubs her hand along Voshkie'ahk's back, taking notice of the large scar running diagonally down her back from her left shoulder to her right hip, though most of it is obstructed by her nightgown. Voshkie'ahk rests her head under Yukari's chin as she calms down and allows sleep to take her. Yukari can feel Voshkie'ahk being more at peace now and falls asleep as well.

 _"Even if I can't fight beside her, I can still support her in any other way I can. I won't let my darling be alone anymore,"_ Yukari thinks before sleep takes her completely.

…

Back at the bandit camp, Vernal visits Raven's tent. When she steps in, she finds Raven polishing her blade.

"So, are our guests enjoying their accomodations?" Raven asks.

"Mostly. I would like to ask you something?" Vernal asks.

"Shoot," Raven replies.

"The one with the mask mentioned something weird. He said that his leader, some kid named Khazhak, was your apprentice. Of course, I knew he was bluffing, but it was still annoying. Do you know anyone named Khazhak?" Vernal asks.

Raven stops polishing her blade, "He wasn't bluffing. That one's name is Reaper. His leader is Khazhak Rairyu, and yes... he is my apprentice," Raven says as she looks back to her.

Now Vernal is a little stunned, "So he was telling the truth. This Khazhak, is he strong?" she asks.

"Well, he's not strong enough to beat me, and that's never going to change. However, if I weren't added to the equation, he could take out this entire tribe single-handedly, given the strength he's amassed now. I've been helping him with his training every now and then. We met during one of our raids a few years ago. You were out at another part of the village, so you didn't see him. I trust you Vernal, but this was just a new personal project of mine. My hope is to convince him to join our tribe one day, though I'm starting to believe that's not going to happen. That's why we have one of his friends here. Khazhak will learn about them soon enough, and when he does, I hope to use his little friend as a bargaining chip to get him to join us. Khazhak may be a fool in many ways, but he is also a man of honor. He doesn't break his word, and that's what I'm counting on," Raven explains.

Vernal crosses her arms, "And if he doesn't do what you want?" she asks.

Raven sheathes her sword, "Then we eliminate him," she says.

Meanwhile, in their cage, Weiss and Reaper watch the two bandits watching them fall asleep, before they turn their backs to them. They use their semblance to create a small Armas Gigas and skull phantom, and smile at each other as they get their plan into motion.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Now we learn more about Khazhak's history with Raven, as does several others. We also see a little bit more into Voshkie'ahk and Khazhak's past with her nightmare. To answer another reviewer's question, I do have a RWBY KEPL chibi story in the works, but I'm holding off on that until I get up to the end of Volume 6 for this story and a few others, so just be patient. Anyway, will Reaper and Weiss escape Raven's clutches? Will Khazhak learn about their situation? What exactly was Voshkie'ahk having a nightmare about? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	82. Chapter 77: Through Steel and Fire

**Here we are at Chapter 77. It's time for some familiar faces to reunite, though not quite in the best of circumstances. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 77. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 77: Through Steel and Fire**

In the forests of Anima, Yang drives her motorcycle down a dirt path. Sitting behind her is Lloyd, who is carrying the shady man up on his shoulders in a one-handed fireman's carry since there wasn't much room (and in case he does something stupid, Lloyd can just throw him like an empty soda can).

Do I really have to be carried like this? It's so stupid," the shady man says.

"If you want, I can always hold you by one of your ankles and drag your face across the dirt while Yang drives," Lloyd threatens him.

"No thanks, I'm good," the man quickly replies.

"Then keep quiet unless it's to tell us where to go next," Lloyd tells him.

Yang glances behind her, "Speaking of which, how much further do we have to go, pal?" she asks.

The shady man takes a quick look around, "This should be good. Pull up to a stop up ahead," he says, pointing ahead of them. A second later, Yang pulls over and stops her bike. Lloyd lets the dude down and then they get off. "You two wait here. I'll scout ahead and make sure the coast is clear," he says and heads off through some bushes.

Yang pulls her shades down a bit and shakes her head.

Lloyd walks up next to her, "You do know this is a trap, right?" he asks.

"Yep," Yang replies, popping the 'p'.

Lloyd shrugs his shoulders, "At least we won't be bored," he notes.

Yang takes off her shades, her sleeves, and her coattails and puts them on her bike before doing some stretches, while Lloyd rolls his shoulders a bit. However, a shot suddenly rings out at Lloyd, only for him to expertly use his semblance to block the shot from hitting the back of his head, not feeling a thing. The two of them turn around to see the shady man return, along with a bunch of other bandits, surrounding the pair, and each carrying either swords, rifles, or barehanded.

"Man, I can't believe you two actually fell for it; having me bring you here," the shady man notes.

The pair look around, "This all of the goons you brought with you?" Lloyd asks.

"Yes, kid, this is all of them. Well, other than everyone else still at the camp back that way," the shady man notes, pointing behind him.

"That way?" Yang says, pointing in the same direction, unfazed.

This confuses the bandits a bit, "Yes, blondie, that way," the shady man replies.

"Good to know, thanks," Yang says.

"Now then, to pay me back for this tooth. We're gonna take your bike, and you're gonna take your lumps," the shady man says, clasping his fist a bit as they step closer. Yang looks at her left hand before flexing it down, activating her left gauntlet. This makes the bandits seem a little more hesitant, before she shady man pulls out his pistol, "You may have gotten the jump on me last time, but-," he begins, before Yang activates the gun mechanism in her right arm, stopping him. "But I wouldn't-," he begins again, until this time Lloyd activates both of his claw gauntlets, shutting him up once more.

"You know, I've been bored babysitting this chick for a while now. Just don't go down too easily, will ya?" Lloyd asks, scrapping his claws together.

"Okay... Get them!" the shady man says and the bandits charge.

Yang calmly walks forward as one bandit comes at her. He throws a right punch, only for Yang to easily deflect it, throwing a left punch to his stomach, followed by a low sweep kick to his feet, knocking him into the air. She finishes him off with a hard, downward punch to the ground. One bandit comes in from behind with a short blade, but Lloyd comes in and catches it in his right hand. He crushes the blade, and then spins around for a left backhand strike, following it up by grabbing his face in his claws, flinging him up in the air and essentially choke-slamming him to the ground. One bandit takes some shots at him, but Lloyd uses his semblance on his arms to block the bullets as he runs at his enemy. The bandit freaks as he gets closer, but is too slow to react when Lloyd smacks the rifles away and pulls his face in for a knee strike. Lloyd then makes a few claw strikes at him, ending it with a left punch that knocks him into a tree.

Meanwhile, Yang sees a pair of bandits, a male and a female, with blades coming at her from the front. She gets low and swings her legs around to knock them back and then flips into the air above them. She makes a downward kick on the female bandit, and then makes a right uppercut to her skull, sending her flying. She then blocks a sword strike from the male bandit, and then makes a few punches to his chest and face before getting knocked down by a left hook. Lloyd sees one bandit coming at him with a blade drawn, and fires off a shot from his right gauntlet, breaking the blade. He then comes in with a left uppercut encased in steel to his chest. He then takes him down with an elbow strike to his skull, knocking his opponent to the ground. A shot flies by, nearly missing his head, and he looks to see another bandit firing a rifle at him. He kicks up the unconscious bandit from the ground and then roundhouse kicks him straight at the second bandit, the two crashing into each other and then into a tree together. Meanwhile, Yang avoids a shot fired by the shady man and growls a bit. He fires off his pistol again, only for the weapon to jam up, making him worry. Yang backhands one bandit coming at her from behind and then fires off her weapons to shoot her over to him. He takes a swing at her with the blade on his pistol when she gets close, but she fires off her left gauntlet at the ground to propel her over him in a twirl. She lands behind him and throw a hard, right haymaker at him sending him flying into another bandit that just managed to get back up. Just as Yang thinks the fight is over, she sees some of the bandits getting back up slowly, looking to brawl a little more. Yang gets ready to fight, but then Lloyd steps up next to her and holds an arm out to stop her.

"I got this. Let me show you a new trick I learned," Lloyd says and starts calmly walking forward. He activates his semblance around his right arm, but then Yang sees steel spikes coming out of the arm all around it, getting surprised by the image. Lloyd then reels his right arm up, "STEEL... BREAKER!" he shouts and smashes his right arm deep into the ground.

Suddenly, large steel spikes erupt from the ground, moving towards the bandits in a surge of steel. The attack takes them all out, sending them flying all over the place. When the attack is finished, Lloyd pulls his arm out of the ground and then the spikes disappear into the ground, leaving large holes in the dirt as he deactivates his semblance.

"Whoa," Yang mutters and finally sees the battle end. With that, her left arm shakes a bit, but she holds it in her right as she takes a deep breath and calms down before walking up to Lloyd. "Where'd you learn to do that?" she asks.

"What? You think I was just standing around, doing nothing while watching over you all those months in Patch? Even before you saw me again, I was training to become stronger. This new technique is the culmination of that training. Before, I could mainly use my semblance for defense only. I could use it to fight, but never to a full extent. But now, I've learned how to expand my semblance and broadcast it outward as a physical attack... Though I haven't seen him in quite a while, I know for a fact that Brother has become a lot stronger since I last saw him. I don't want to fall behind and become a burden to him. So, I was training back in Patch before you got your arm AND got your head out of your ass and focused on what is important," Lloyd explains and then gets right in her face and looks her straight in the eye. "My main concern is getting back to Brother and helping him and Ruby. I'm only here to follow his orders and get you to your sister, but HE is my main priority, so I won't stop. I won't hesitate like you did," he tells her.

Yang glances down a bit in shame, "I know I messed up with Ruby. You can remind me about that screw up as much as you want. I'll I care about is making sure I get to my sister and making sure she's safe," she says.

"Then let's get going," Lloyd says and they head back to Yang's bike.

The shady man then gets up on his knees, "Who the Hell are you two? It doesn't matter. When Raven finds out what you did, you're dead," he warns them, smiling.

"Personally, but I doubt it. I am her daughter after all," Yang notes as she glances back at him, while Lloyd chuckles.

"If I were you, I'd worry about what Raven would do to you when she finds out you attacked her daughter," Lloyd adds.

The shady man processes this information and it hits him, "... I'm dead," he mutters and then passes out again.

…

 **"Yes, that's it. You're getting closer,"** Bahamut notes as blue lightning flows around Khazhak's body in his mind.

Khazhak breathes calmly as he slowly moves his arms, the lightning following his movements and then surging around his left arm. He opens his eyes, the right eye glowing red for a moment before it starts glowing blue again like his left eye. Eventually, he claps his hands together as the lightning claps together with him and then dissipates.

 **"Your training is coming along. However, you must do one more thing before you can gain access to the next level of the Dragon Spirit,"** Bahamut notes.

Khazhak looks at him, "And that would be?" he asks.

 **"You must express some of your inner conflicts outward. Only then can you get stronger. It is a process of give and take, just as it has always been,"** Bahamut explains.

Khazhak sighs, thinking that he'd rather not do that... But if he is to help Ruby as much as possible, then he must concede, for now anyway.

"I just... It was a long time ago. A mistake I made, and someone I love paid the price for it," Khazhak admits.

 **"And that mistake would be?"** Bahamut asks.

"Failing to protect my sister when she needed me the most. This was before the fire that destroyed my home; before I lost my parents. She got hurt... because I wasn't strong enough," Khazhak says, glancing at his left arm.

 **"Did you hurt her?"** Bahamut asks.

"No... But I might as well have been the one to do it. No, it was someone else... Someone I once looked up to," Khazhak says, but then feels his lightning flowing around him again, only this time it feels stronger.

 **"It seems you have made some true progress today. Your connection with the Dragon Spirit has grown stronger now. In time, you will be able to access more of it, but be wary. The stronger you get, the more you'll have to pay for that power,"** Bahamut says.

Khazhak opens his eyes, "I care not about the price. As long as I can help Ruby, no cost is too high," he mutters.

…

Back with Yang and Lloyd, the pair get the battered group of bandits to take them to the camp, opening the large tree doors and granting them entry. As they walk into the camp, the other bandits inside watch them with interest and join the group in heading to the center of camp, where a large red tent stands in front of them. The bandits spread out, forming a large circle around the two fighters. Vernal comes out to see what's up and stands near Raven's tent. Meanwhile, the two bandits watching Weiss and Reaper run to see what's going on, giving Weiss and Reaper the chance to enact their escape plan. They create a small Armas Gigas and a small skull phantom, which both start working at breaking the cage bars to grant them freedom. With Yang and Lloyd, a moment later, they see Raven exit her tent, with her mask on.

"Mom," Yang mutters.

"Raven," Lloyd mutters, already angry at seeing his brother's master.

Raven removes her mask, "Yang. So, after all this time you finally decided to visit me. And I see you brought Khazhak's trusty watchdog with you. Lloyd, was it?" Raven asks, smirking.

"Careful Raven. This 'dog' BITES," Lloyd warns her.

Yang's left hand starts to shake again and she holds it for a moment before speaking.

"You KNOW that I searched for you. I spent years looking for you. You only show up once in my whole life, and have apparently kept quite a bit from me, considering your history with Khazhak," Yang says.

"My history with Khazhak is none of your concern, or yours for that matter, little watchdog. However, the fact remains that you've found me. You were patient, determined, and strong enough to make your dream a reality. I suppose I can give your friends a little credit for giving you some help on finding me. Well done, Yang, but did you have to be so rough with my men?" Raven asks, smirking.

"Hah, I'd hardly call these worthless morons, 'men'. You need better minions if this is the best you got at your disposal. Besides, they were the ones looking for a fight. Not our fault if they get their asses kicked," Lloyd says, gesturing to the bandits around them, who get a little angry at his words.

"Well, you've certainly proven your strength so far against them," Raven notes. A silence takes over before Raven eventually sighs. "Right. Well, I'm sure this is all very overwhelming. But I must admit that you've proven yourself, both of you. So, any questions you have, I'll be happy to answer. You can stay with us tonight. I'll even have the cooks whip you two up something to eat as well. Considering your connection with my apprentice, I'll let you stay too, Lloyd," she says.

"That's NOT why we are here," Yang declares.

"What was that?" Raven asks, offended.

"I'm not here for you. Ruby and Khazhak are somewhere in Mistral. They're with Qrow, and They're going to need my help. I just need you to take us to them," Yang says.

"Brother is with her. And I won't stop until I'm back where I belong; by his side as his shield," Lloyd adds.

"And why should I help you?" Raven asks, her question centered on Yang.

"Because we're family," Yang replies.

Now, Raven scowls, "Family. Only coming around when they need something. I have to say, I'm disappointed. After all, you found me, didn't you? Why not take that drive and use it to find your little sister if she means that much to you? Or you, why not use your own skills to reunite with your precious 'big brother'?" Raven retorts.

"Because we don't have time for a scavenger hunt. We know that Ruby and Brother are heading to Mistral, but we don't know if they've made it there already. Looking for them could take months," Lloyd notes.

"However, Dad told us how your semblance works," Yang adds, smirking.

"Tai...," Raven mutters.

Yang smirks, "You can bond to certain people. And when you do, you could create a portal that takes you straight to them. You've got one for Dad. One for me. One for Khazhak, apparently. And you've got one for Qrow. He promised me he'd watch out for Ruby before he left. And I trust him, just like I trust Khazhak. So, make a portal to the three of them, and we'll get out of your hair," Yang asks.

"You know, it takes real strength to march in here and demand such a favor of me. I've got to say, I'm impressed. It's very noble to want to help out your sister. But if she's with Qrow, then she's already a lost cause," Raven notes as she walks off to the side.

"What does that mean?" Yang asks.

"You don't want to get mixed up in all of that, Yang. Ozpin is not the man you think he is. And Qrow is a fool for trusting him. I would know, I trusted him once, too. At least Khazhak is smart enough not to trust him, but he still chooses to fight with him, which still makes him a fool," Raven explains, the last part making Lloyd growl a bit.

"I don't care what you think," Yang states, stopping Raven.

"Your choice is your own. All I'm suggesting is that instead of getting wrapped up in something too big for you, for any of us, that maybe you take a moment to wonder if you're already where you belong," Raven says, and then turns to Lloyd. "And what about you? I know you're immensely loyal to Khazhak, but there is such a thing as blind loyalty. Why should you have to follow him into a battle that you can't win? A battle that was never yours to begin with? Why not make your own decisions for once?" Raven asks.

Yang and Lloyd glance around, but remain resolute.

"You can spout off whatever nonsense you want, but nothing is going to keep me from getting to my sister," Yang says, eyes narrowed.

"And I don't follow my brother because I have to. I follow him because I CHOOSE to. So wherever he goes, I go," Lloyd adds.

Raven crosses her arms, "Well, aren't you two stubborn," Raven notes.

"I get it from my mom," Yang replies.

"And I get mine from my brother," Lloyd adds.

"Well, if that's how you two feel, then it sounds like we're done here. Escort Yang out of my camp, but take the other one and throw him in the cage," Raven says and begins to walk back inside.

"Wait, what?!" Yang yells.

Raven turns back, "You've made your choice here. But I could use Lloyd. Khazhak would do anything to protect his family, and I need him by my side. Sounds like a fair trade, wouldn't you say?" Raven smirks as her bandits surround the two.

"It's official, your mom SUCKS," Lloyd mutters to Yang as they look around.

"Did you not hear us?" Yang says, making Raven stare at her. "We're going to our family, and you're going to help us whether you like it or not!" Yang demands, her eyes turning red.

"That's enough! You watch your mouth in front of our leader!" one bandit threatens them with a blade drawn.

"Come and make us," Lloyd challenges him.

The bandit charges at them and swings his sword. However, Lloyd activates his semblance around his head and the blade breaks on contact. He then encases his right hand in steel and throws a hard right punch at the bandit, sending him flying into a tent, making it fall to the ground and revealing Weiss and Reaper, who notice the two.

"...Yang?" Weiss says in confusion.

Yang looks back, "Weiss?" she says, surprised.

"Lloyd?" Reaper says.

"Reaper?" Lloyd adds.

Now all the bandits are confused, seeing that the four know each other.

"Alright, well subtlety is out," Weiss says and uses her semblance to make the Armas Gigas to grow to a massive size, breaking them out of the cage.

Reaper sends out some skull phantoms that take out the two bandits guarding them, with one of them retrieving Reaper's weapon and bringing it back to him.

"I'll be taking this back," Reaper notes.

The pair, along with their summons, run to join up with Yang and Lloyd, all forming a circle as the bandits encircle them.

"What is that?" Yang asks about Weiss' summon.

"Never mind about that, what are you doing here?" Weiss asks.

"Well, that's my mom, and she can take us to Ruby and Khazhak," Yang says, pointing at Raven.

Weiss looks at a groaning Raven, and then it hits her, "Your MOM kidnapped me?!" she yells.

Yang then looks at Raven, "You kidnapped her?!" she yells.

"Reaper, how'd the Hell did you get captured by Raven of all people?!" Lloyd asks.

"Another story for another time, Lloyd!" Reaper replies, eyeing the bandits.

The group charge at the bandits, ready to fight their way out, but then a lightning bolt suddenly rings out and strike the ground between them and the bandits, stopping everyone.

"ENOUGH!" Vernal yells out, her right hand held outwards.

"Thank you," Raven says to her. "If you people don't get it together, this place will be swarming with Grimm... Give the girl her weapon back," Raven says. Vernal is surprised by this order, but complies and tosses Myrtenaster back to Weiss, who catches it with a smile. "The four of you, into my tent, now," Raven tells them.

"Why?" Yang asks, still on edge.

"If you're really going after your sister and Khazhak... then you need to know the truth," Raven says before she enters her tent.

The rest of the bandits leave and head back to their tents as things calm down. Reaper calls back his phantoms and Weiss sighs in relief.

Yang turns to Weiss, "Sorry about-," she begins, until Weiss suddenly throws herself at Yang in a big hug, surprising the blonde.

"I missed you so much," Weiss says, almost in tears as she holds her old friend close.

Yang smiles, "...I missed you too," she says, hugging her back.

Reaper watches the happy reunion, only to see Lloyd come at him with his arms out wide for a hug... and punches him in the face.

"Ow, is that anyway to greet an old friend you haven't seen in months?" Lloyd says, rubbing his face.

"Yeah," Reaper bluntly replies.

Lloyd eventually smiles and offers his left hand to him, "Whatever. Good to see that metal face of yours again, buddy," he says.

Reaper chuckles, "Heh-heh-heh... It's good to see you again, old friend," he says as he returns the gesture in a Spartan handshake.

The pair then watch the heartfelt reunion between Yang and Weiss while the Armas Gigas fades away in the background.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Yang and Lloyd reunite with Reaper and Weiss. Meanwhile, Khazhak gets stronger with the Dragon Spirit, but he has a long way to go before he masters it. The next chapter will be back on Porphyrius and Blake, with some more Ruby and Khazhak. For those asking about my updates, I try to get them updated as soon as possible, but I have a lot going on right now, so you just have to be patient. Anyway, what will happen next? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	83. Chapter 78: The Past and Future

**Here we are at Chapter 78. Time to get back to Blake, Sun, and Porphyrius as they continue their mission in Menagerie. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 78. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 78: The Past and Future**

In Menagerie, Blake and Porphyrius are waiting on the steps of her family's home, waiting for Sun to join them.

"So, how well do you think we're gonna do?" Porphyrius asks, holding up his scroll.

"We just have to try, Porphyrius. I'm sure we'll get some people that will agree to help us. Just give them a chance to show it," Blake replies.

Porphyrius grunts, "From my experience, most people tend to take the easy path, and that path involves running away from the fight and giving in to fear. Sound familiar," Porphyrius notes.

"You're never gonna stop brining that up, are you?" Blake notes.

"Not until we get back to Khazhak, Ruby, and Yang at least," Porphyrius replies. Just then, Sun walks out the front door of the home to join them. "Took you long enough. You ready now?" he asks.

Sun holds up his scroll, "Yep. I've gone up against monsters, giant robots, and I even managed to duke it out a bit with someone like Khazhak Rairyu. I think I can handle getting a few signatures," he replies confidently.

They head into the village and split up to talk to the people of Menagerie. Blake is soon seen standing on a platform, with several Faunus standing before her.

Blake holds up her scroll, "Please, your chieftain needs you! Your people need you! Please join us and help us fight to save Haven Academy!" she calls out.

However, the Faunus just stare at her and slowly start to leave, leaving Blake with zero signatures. Blake sighs and hangs her head a bit before she decides to try again. Meanwhile, Sun is talking to a ram Faunus in another part of town.

"Are you kidding? We'd LOVE to have someone on our team with your skills," Sun says.

The boy seems hesitant a bit, until his mother enters the conversation.

"Mata! Get back inside!" his mother calls out as she walks up to them.

"Mom!" Mata replies.

His mother grabs him by his left horn, "You're not going anywhere! I'm not going to have my son go off fighting someone else's fight!" she says as she pulls him back inside their house.

Sun hunches over in defeat. "Well, that's strike one," he mutters.

Off in another part of town, Porphyrius is talking with two rhino Faunus.

"Don't you want a chance to prove to humans that they're wrong about the Faunus. That they're not monsters?" Porphyrius asks, holding up his scroll.

"We know we're not monsters, but what about you, half-breed?" one says before they turn tale and leave.

Porphyrius watches them and sighs before moving on. As he's walking through town, trying to find people to join their cause, he can easily feel some people staring at him, and not in a good way. He notices how some people are glaring at him for a moment before leaving or getting back to what they're doing.

"Guess some things never change," Porphyrius mutters.

Back with Blake, she is at the port, conversing with two female fish Faunus who are swimming in the water.

"Adam doesn't want what's best for the Faunus, but if we band together and stop him, we can prevent the image of Faunus from getting worse, and make it better than it was before. Let's show the humans what Faunus are really about," Blake says.

The two just stare at each other before they swim off, leaving Blake with a sullen look as her ears fold down. Meanwhile, Sun hangs out with a few other Faunus who are doing some woodwork, in which he is hanging upside down in a tree, showing his scroll to them. However, they just stare at each other and shake their heads to him. Sun groans a bit before the tree he's hanging on suddenly shakes and he has to jump off as it begins to fall over. He lands safely as the tree hits the ground, showing another Faunus as the culprit, and Sun looking flabbergasted at almost going down with the tree.

Porphyrius is in the market, walking towards one group of Faunus to try and recruit them. However, as he does, a random fruit flies by and nearly hit him in the head, had he not caught it in mid-air. He looks to the side to see a few young Faunus, with one having an arm extended, before they all run off after sticking their tongues at him. Porphyrius sighs before taking a bite out of the fruit anyway. Seeing that he's not welcome there, Porphyrius moves on to another location in the town. When he gets there, he soon finds himself talking with a leopard Faunus and a lizard Faunus.

"If Adam gets what he wants, it'll make the divide between humans and Faunus even bigger. I'm sure you can see how much trouble that's going to cause the Faunus of Menagerie and everywhere else in Remnant. But if you join us, we can prevent that from happening and prove Adam Taurus wrong. Prove that humans and Faunus really are equal," Porphyrius says.

"Hey, we don't agree with what the White Fang have been doing lately, but that one White Fang girl did have a point. Besides, how do we know you're not doing this because of those human genes in you. Are you doing this for the Faunus, or for them? Frankly, I can't really tell. I'm out of here," the lizard Faunus says before he and his friend take their leave.

Porphyrius glances to the side, "And here I thought I was used to this by now. Maybe I'm used to it with humans, but maybe not as much with Faunus," he thinks.

Things don't really get any better for him as he continues looking for signatures. Most Faunus don't even give him the time of day, while the rest give him a rude remark about what he is. He knew this would be difficult, but he didn't think it would be this bad.

…

Meanwhile, in Mistral, Khazhak is sitting up against the tree in the courtyard, watching the calm sky, with much on his mind.

 **"You're thinking about the Spring Maiden?"** Bahamut asks.

Khazhak sighs, "Yeah. The bandit tribe, I can handle even by myself without much issue. But then there's Raven, and finally the Spring Maiden. To just run away from your responsibilities, your duty, and to end up misusing a gift that was meant to protect the innocent. I don't know who this Spring Maiden is exactly, but she has proven to be anything but a Maiden, especially if she's working for Raven. However, we don't know how powerful she is exactly, and that's a problem. If we can't convince Raven to help us, which I doubt she'll do anyway, we'll have to fight, and this fight won't be an easy one," Khazhak explains.

 **"Power and the responsibilities that come with them can at times be an intimidating thing, to both the one with power and the one without it. The pressures of a life unlike any other can at times be too heavy a burden to bear alone,"** Bahamut notes.

"Still, that doesn't excuse what she's been using her powers for now. I have to agree with Qrow; the rules that define how a Maiden is chosen are convoluted and stupid. They are given a gift without doing anything to earn it. And when they have it, they are thrust upon the world, their previous lives and goals lost to them. I guess in the end, they're just pawns in Ozpin and Salem's game as well," Khazhak says.

From the house, Ruby comes out the doorway and spots Khazhak. Taking a deep breath, she walks out into the courtyard to meet him.

"Hey Khazhak," Ruby greets him.

"Hey Ruby, what's going on?" Khazhak asks without moving from his position.

Ruby sits next to him, "I just wanted to see how you're doing. You seem to have a lot on your mind lately," she notes.

Khazhak sighs, "I do. This conflict between Ozpin and Salem, the Maidens and the Relics. Raven and her tribe. Your Silver Eyes and my Dragon Spirit. So much was kept from us. So much that we didn't know about Remnant. I just... I can understand that some things must be kept secret, but I can't help but wonder how many innocent people would've survived if they knew about this. How many had to die because they didn't know the truth, and how many died because they found out about the truth?" Khazhak explains.

Ruby looks a little concerned and wraps her arms around Khazhak's right, "You're a good person, Khazhak. Despite your rough and tough exterior, you care more about the innocent more so than most people I know. I don't know about all this secrecy stuff either, but I do know that if there's something that you can do to help, then you'll give it everything you've got. You do what you feel is right, and you face your problems head-on. There are people that just aren't like that. It's one of the reasons why I...," Ruby trails off as she glances away, her cheeks blushing a bit.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" Khazhak asks.

Ruby sighs, "I just... When we first met, I didn't know you that well. But as I got to know you better, I was drawn to your strength and resolve. And then I saw how much pain you were in, and I wanted to help. And now, you mean so much to me that I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you. I won't ask you to stop fighting, because that wouldn't be fair to you. I just worry about you because I...," Ruby trails off again until Khazhak takes her hand in his own.

"When we first met, I thought you were just a young girl trying to be a hero, while also being a little naïve. But then, I saw the potential within you and I wanted to see what you would become as you move through your training as a huntress. Spending more time with you, I began to see the value of enjoying life again, despite everything I've been through and everything I've lost. I always feel better when I'm with you, and cold when I'm not. I lost my light... until you became one for me. My new light. I became your servant because I want to always be there for you. To protect you and help you in any way I can. Ruby, you have become someone very dear to me, even more so than my teammates or even my own sister. I just...," Khazhak says as he stares into her eyes.

"Khazhak..." Ruby mutters as she inches closer.

"Ruby..." Khazhak whispers as he draws near as well.

It is then that their lips connect in a gentle kiss. All their feelings, all those words that they want to say to the other, are now felt through their intertwined lips. The kiss lasts for a few short moments, but for the two teenagers, it feels like a lifetime before they finally part. No words are spoken as they just stare at each other, and no words need to be spoken either. Whatever they wanted to say, the other already knows and understands. Ruby moves to sit in Khazhak's lap as he wraps his arms around her and she rests her head under his chin. The pair sit silently, watching the sky and enjoying the embrace of one another for as long as they possibly can. From the sidelines, Jaune, Ren, and Nora watch on before they nod to each other and decide to leave the two lovebirds alone in peace.

…

Back in Menagerie, Porphyrius links back up with Sun and Blake, who are standing by a fruit drink stand. He sees the looks on their faces and knows that they came up short, as did he. They all lament a bit in defeat before deciding to get a cool drink to help them a little bit and find a table off next to the water to rest for a bit. Sun takes a sip of his drink before he slams it down on the table.

"I don't get it! How can these guys just sit around and do nothing while the White Fang get ready to attack Haven?!" he asks, frustrated.

"Because they're not like the three of us, Sun. The Faunus here in Menagerie – the ones that weren't born here – came here in order to escape the violence. They wanted to be free from the fighting and just be left alone... And here we are asking them to put Haven before themselves," Blake explains.

"We're used to fighting, Sun. But most Faunus here are not warriors. They wanted to live in peace. And now we're asking them to help those that practically forced them here. Can you really expect them to be up in arms to join us after that?" Porphyrius adds.

At hearing this, Sun calms down, "I guess I never thought about it that way," he says.

"However, the problem is that if Adam gets his way, it's only going to make things more difficult for the Faunus. Everywhere," Blake says.

 _"The one that hurt Yang,"_ Porphyrius thinks while clenching his left fist.

"...So, this Adam, he's the guy you used to... work with?" Sun tentatively asks.

Blake sighs, "Yes, he was," she replies.

"I'm sorry. Forget I brought it up," Sun quickly says.

"No, it's okay... Have you ever met someone and thought 'this person is the embodiment of this word'?" Blake asks.

"I don't really..." Sun trails off.

"Okay, well, I remember getting to know Ruby and thinking, 'this girl is the embodiment of 'purity''. After a while, I realized Weiss was 'defiance'. And Yang was 'strength'," Blake explains.

"Okay... So what am I?" Sun asks.

"Bananas," Porphyrius bluntly says.

"Hey!" Sun retorts, making Porphyrius and Blake chuckle.

"I think the jury's still out on that one, but I'm leaning towards 'earnest'," she says, smiling.

Sun smiles back and uses his tail to sip his drink.

"What about me?" Porphyrius asks.

"Well, for you, I'm thinking 'honest'. For your teammates, I'm thinking that Reaper is 'wisdom', Lloyd is 'loyalty', and Khazhak is 'resolve'," Blake explains, earning a smile from Porphyrius. Blaker then frowns, "At first, I thought Adam was 'justice', then I thought he was 'passion'. But over time, I realized I was wrong. He wasn't any of those things. He was 'spit'. Not 'hatred', not 'rage', 'spite'. He won't accept equality, only suffering for what he feels the world did to him, and his way of thinking is dangerously contagious. That's what worries me about Ilia. She's not like Adam, not yet at least, but I don't know how long that will last," Blake says.

"She was your friend, right?" Sun asks.

"She was. Her chameleon traits meant she could pass as human. She could've lived a normal life if she wanted, but she didn't. I always admired that. She lost her family in a mining accident when she was young, then she joined the White Fang. Like me, she was more or less trained on the road alongside other Faunus. She learned to survive, to defend herself, but as people like Sienna and Adam started to gain a following, she became more dangerous. I guess I did too. My parents tried to get me to leave with them, but I refused. I had Adam and Ilia, after all," Blake explains.

"As I've said before, we're going to have to deal with her soon enough, and I've told you what would happen if I have to deal with her," Porphyrius reminds her.

"I know," Blake replies, looking down.

"So, what are you going to do?" Sun asks.

Blake looks back up, "I'm going to try to help her the way you two helped me. You, Sun, showed me that sometimes you have to be there for a friend, even if they don't want you there. And you, Porphyrius, showed me that I needed to stop running from my problems and stop letting me fear get the better of me. I was drowning in fear, and in guilt, over what happened in Vale, but you two showed me the right path to take again. You never gave up on me, even when I tried pushing you away. So now I can't let Ilia push me away. I'm going to help her because it's about time I started being there for my friends for a change," Blake declares, earning a smile from Sun and Porphyrius.

"Now that, I can get behind," Porphyrius says.

…

Later that evening, in an unknown location in Menagerie, Corsac and Fennec Albain stand in front of a White Fang altar after receiving a message from Adam Taurus.

"Your thoughts?" Fennec asks his brother.

"Are of no significance. If this is how High Leader Taurus wishes to proceed, then we shall make it so," Corsac replies.

"Of course, brother. Still...," Fennec trails off when they hear a knock at the door behind them.

"Come in," Corsac says, and a moment later, Ilia enters the room.

"Sister Ilia, thank you for meeting with us," Fennec notes.

Ilia kneels before them, "How may I be of assistance?" she asks.

"Please, stand," Corsac asks, and she does so. We have wonderful news," he says.

"What is it?" Ilia asks.

"We finally received a message from the Mistral brotherhood: the operation was a success. Adam Taurus has claimed his place as the High Leader of the White Fang," Fennec says, smirking.

"Good. And... Sienna?" Ilia asks.

"Buried... with honor. The other branches of the Fang have been given the story that was agreed upon," Corsac adds.

Ilia sighs, "A necessary sacrifice. We won't forget everything she did for us," she says.

"Indeed," Fennec agrees.

"Your maturity and understanding in regards to this matter is appreciated, and it is why we've summoned you here this evening," Corsac says.

"The White Fang is experiencing... a transitional period," Fennec says.

"And growth requires change.," Corsac adds.

"And change can be painful," Fennec finishes.

"If it's for the betterment of the Faunus, then... it's a pain we can endure. What's our next mission?" Ilia asks.

"Containment. With the CCT towers still inoperable, we have the luxury of control over the flow of information," Corsac begins.

"News of Adam's ascension has yet to reach Menagerie, but when it does, the citizens of Kuo Kuana will undoubtedly react poorly now that the chieftain has spoken out against us," Fennec adds.

Ilia sighs, "It's my fault the Belladonnas and that... thing... had any ground to stand on.

"Do not concern yourself with past failures, Ilia. Focus on the future. We have an opportunity for redemption," Corsac reassures her.

"What do you need me to do?" Ilia asks.

"The Belladonnas are the only remaining threat to Adam's assault on Haven Academy," Fennec begins.

"And so, they must be silenced...," Corsac ends.

Ilia is shocked to hear this, "S-silenced?" she almost gasps.

"Like Sienna, they stand in the way of true progress for our people," Corsac explains.

"We would never put such a burden on you alone, of course. Your brothers and sisters will be at your side, but your relationship with their daughter makes you an intrical part of this operation," Fennec says.

"Blake?" Ilia asks, a little worried.

"We know how close you are with young Blake. Rest assured, High Leader Taurus has requested she be taken alive, but we cannot risk having her present to defend her family, or the half-breed that supports them," Corsac says.

"But, the people of Menagerie-," Ilia begins.

"Will come to understand what happens to those who speak out against the White Fang, or work with those that are not one of us," Corsac stops her.

"And will be left without a leader until our victory is complete," Fennec adds.

Corsac puts a hand on Ilia's shoulder, "A necessary sacrifice, Sister Ilia," Corsac says.

Ilia briefly thinks on this, before leaving the room.

"She's right to worry about the citizens. They aren't fond of that half-breed, but tye still love and respect Chief Belladonna. It's possible they may come to see Ghira as a martyr," Fennec notes.

"It is a risk we must take for our High Leader," Corsac says before he reactivates the device from earlier, showing a blue life-sized hologram of Adam and his message.

"I will not allow them to ruin this! The Belladonna name has brought me nothing but grief! You've done well in finding the deserter. Bring her to me, alive. But not before you've slaughtered her family. I have a promise to keep. And as for the... abomination... leave nothing of him but dust," Adam commands them before the hologram deactivates.

"He seems... unwell," Fennec notes with concern.

"He carries with him a tremendous burden," Corsac says.

"Are we sure he is the one to lead us?" Fennec questions his brother.

"For now. We must do what is best for the Faunus," Corsac says, making his brother sigh before another knock is heard at the door. "Yes?" Corsac calls out, and a male bat Faunus with wings enters the room. "Brother Yuma. Did you see to Ghira's messenger?" he asks.

"He rests beneath the waves... along with his warning," Yuma replies.

"...Then all is well," Corsac says, the brothers showing evil smirks.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Blake, Sun, and Porphyrius continue their objective with little results, but refuse to give up. Meanwhile, Khazhak and Ruby finally admit their feelings for one another. However, the White Fang are planning their next move, with Blake's family and Porphyrius in their sights. Will Blake and her friends be ready for this challenge? Will Khazhak's group be ready for theirs? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	84. Chapter 79: Known by its Song

**Here we are at Chapter 79. Let's get back to Yang, Weiss, Lloyd, and Reaper as they speak with Raven regarding the truth of the world. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 79. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 79: Known by Its Song**

In the early evening in Mistral, Oscar Pine is in a training room while wielding Ozpin's cane. He screams a bit as he makes a few swings with the cane. It is clear that, after each swing where he is seen panting, that he's been at this for a while. However...

"Just like I told Jaune, screaming like that doesn't help and only wastes energy and oxygen. Save yourself the trouble," he hears and looks to see Ruby and Khazhak walking down the stairs to great him, Khazhak being the one that spoke.

"You're really getting better at that. Are you hungry? It's almost dinnertime," Ruby informs him.

"Uh, yeah. That sounds good. I was about to call it a night anyway," Oscar replies and gets ready to pack things up.

"You still have a long way to go in my book, farmboy," Khazhak notes offhandedly as he walks by, making Oscar groan a bit.

"Khazhak, give him a break. So, you've never fought before?" Ruby asks as she stands near Oscar.

"Just the occasional small Grimm. Nothing like this, though," Oscar notes.

Ruby giggles a bit, "I see... You look like a natural," she says.

Oscar stares at the cane in his hands, "It's strange, I have only had this cane for a few weeks, but... I feel like I've had it for a lifetime. Longer, even... I sound like a crazy person," he says.

"Well, no crazier than Lloyd and his 'brilliant' ideas that he gets from time to time," Khazhak notes, crossing his arms.

"Well, aside from the Lloyd part, maybe a little. But at this pace, you'll be combat ready in no time!" Ruby says, only to realize what she just said and frowns as she thinks about Penny.

Oscar notices this, "Uh...," he tries to help her.

"Well, see you upstairs," Ruby says and turns to leave.

"How do you two handle all of this?" Oscar asks, stopping her.

"Care to elaborate?" Khazhak asks.

Oscar's voice cracks a bit, "I'm... scared. I'm more scared than I've ever been in my life, than I ever thought was possible. I always knew that I wanted to be more than a farmhand, but this? Who would ask for this?" Oscar says as he walks to a weapon rack and kneels down to put the cane into his backpack.

Ruby walks up behind him, "We all went to Beacon because we wanted to help people. But, you're right. None of us asked for this either. We just have to press on and-," she begins.

"How can you be so confident?! People have tried to kill you and Khazhak! The world's about to go to war all over again! How are you okay with any of this?!" Oscar yells.

Khazhak gets in between them and holds Oscar back by the shoulder, "That's enough Oscar!" he tells him.

Ruby is a little disturbed by Oscar's rant and looks down in sadness for a moment.

"When Beacon fell, I lost two of my friends: Penny Polendina and Pyrrha Nikos. I didn't know them for very long, but that doesn't change the fact that they were two of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met. But that didn't save them. Pyrrha thought that if there was even the smallest chance of helping someone, then it was a chance worth taking. And because of that, she died fighting a battle she knew she couldn't win. And Penny... was killed... just to make a statement," Ruby says as she walks toward the exit out of the training toom to the outside.

"Penny was just an innocent girl that wanted to stay at Beacon. She was... different from other girls her age, but she was still our friend. Pyrrha was a skilled warrior with a kind heart; someone I respected greatly. And Salem was ultimately responsible for their deaths," Khazhak adds.

"I'm... sorry," Oscar apologizes, feeling guilty about how he acted a moment ago.

Ruby turns back to face them, "I am scared, but not just for me. What happened at Beacon shows that Salem doesn't care if you're standing against her or not. She'll kill anybody, and that scares me most of all. Pyrrha... Penny... I'd be lying if I said that it didn't hurt, that I didn't think about them every day since I lost them, that I didn't wish I had spent more time with them. If it had been me instead, I know they would have kept fighting too, no matter how dangerous it was. So that's what I choose to do - to keep moving forward," she says as she looks back out into the sky.

Khazhak walks up next to Ruby and puts a supportive hand on her shoulder. Ruby smiles to him and wipes her tears away.

Ruby turns back to Oscar, "C'mon, if we don't hurry, Nora's gonna eat everything. It wouldn't be the first time," she notes, making Khazhak grunt in amusement. Ruby begins to leave the room as Oscar lingers for a bit. She stops and turns back to him. "Hey, Oscar? This isn't gonna be easy, but the fact that you're even trying says a lot about you. You're braver than you think," she says and then leaves up the stairs.

Oscar then turns to Khazhak, "You have to understand, Oscar. Ruby has lost much in her life, had to grow up faster than a lot of other kids her age. But despite all she's been through, she keeps fighting... because she doesn't want to lose anyone else that she cares about. As do I. My teammates and I have suffered much in our lives, even more so than the members of Team RWBY. But still, we fight on, because if we just gave up, then that would mean that everything we've been through, everything we've lost, everything we could still lose... It would have all been for nothing. Ruby is everything to me now, and I will go wherever she goes. As long as she still wishes to fight, then so shall I. Her determination is one of the reasons I love her so much," Khazhak explains before he too leaves.

 _"They really are remarkable, aren't they?"_ Ozpin asks mentally.

Oscar smiles a bit, "Yeah. They must have been two of the best huntsmen and huntresses at Beacon, huh?" Oscar asks.

Ozpin chuckles, _"Heh-heh-heh, in some ways, yes. But in many others... no. Ruby has her quirks, her faults, just like everyone else. But she also possesses something unquantifiable: a spark, that can inspire others even in the darkest of times. As for Khazhak, he may not have exactly been a model student either, but he too possesses something many do not: an indominable resolve to keep fighting. A will that convinces others to keep moving forward, despite everything they've been through. I feel like I've been truly honored to have met and gotten to know the both of them,"_ he says mentally.

"This must be really hard on them too," Oscar notes sadly.

 _"It most assuredly has been,"_ Ozpin replies mentally.

…

At the Branwen Tribe camp, Vernal pours cups of tea for Raven Branwen, Yang Xiao Long, and Weiss Schnee. They are all inside Raven's tent with the latter three seated around a table, while Reaper and Lloyd stand behind their respective charges.

Raven looks to Vernal, "You can wait outside. Thank you," she says.

Vernal nods and does so.

"So, what's the 'truth'?" Yang asks.

Raven sips her tea, "You know, it's better when it's hot," she notes, ignoring the question.

"Get to the point, Raven. We didn't come here for a tea party," Lloyd demands, crossing his arms.

"The truth is that 'truth' is hard to come by. A story of victory for one person is a story of defeat for someone else. By now, your uncle has surely told Ruby, Khazhak, and their friends plenty of stories," Raven says.

"Well, he's never given me a reason to doubt him before," Yang retorts.

"And Khazhak does what he feels is right. Has he good reasons for doing what he does," Reaper adds.

"That doesn't mean there aren't reasons that would make you doubt them. You know, you and your two teams might as well be the poster children for the Huntsman academies. Your motives vary, but you all enrolled to try and make the world a better place. It's adorable," Raven smirks.

"It's what Huntsmen and Huntresses do," Yang says.

"Not all of them. Some people are just in it for the money and the fame, but there's even more that are just looking to grow stronger. Your Uncle Qrow and I didn't attend Beacon to become Huntsmen, we did it to learn how to kill Huntsmen," Raven admits, making Yang and Weiss gasps and glance at each other while Lloyd and Reaper just widen their eyes. "Daddy and Uncle left that part out, hm?" Raven says before pouring herself some more tea. "Aside from the Grimm, Huntsmen were the only ones capable of ruining our raids and hunting us down. Our tribe needed a counterforce. And Qrow and I were the perfect age," she explains and stands up. "The entrance exams were child's play compared to what we'd already been through. We were good. So good, that we caught the attention of Beacon's very own headmaster, Professor Ozpin. Even after we were put on a team, I could tell he was keeping his eye on us. Back then, I thought it was because he knew, but it was Team STRQ he was interested in," Raven says as she turns her back on them.

"Care to elaborate?" Reaper asks.

"Constant attention, extra training missions, turning a blind eye whenever we happened to break the rules and get into more trouble than we should've. Sound familiar?" Raven asks as she glances back at them.

"Like what happened with us back at Beacon," Lloyd mutters as he glances away.

Yang and Weiss share another glance at each other. Weiss gestures Yang to keep going.

"What's your point?" Yang asks.

Raven turns back to them "How much do you know about Professor Ozpin? About his past?"

He was... a prodigy. One of the youngest headmasters to be appointed to a school," Weiss says.

"Because that's how he planned it. Because the man you know as Ozpin designed those schools and has followers inside every academy on Remnant that are loyal to him and no one else," Raven says.

"Wait, what?" Lloyd asks.

"That doesn't make any sense! How could he have...? No. Why would someone even do that?" Yang asks.

"Because old man Oz has a great and terrible secret. One that could spread fear across the world. One that he eventually entrusted to our team, and once I knew, there was no going back. I needed to know more, but with every new discovery I made, the more horrifying the world became," Raven explains.

"Okay, so what's the big, terrible secret? How bad could it be?" Lloyd asks.

"The Creatures of Grimm... have a master named Salem. She can't be stopped, she can't be reasoned with, and she will not rest until humanity crumbles at her feet," Raven admits.

Hearing this makes the four teenagers widen their eyes in shock at learning such a revelation.

"What?" Weiss asks, still shocked.

"You know, you guys haven't even touched your tea," Raven notes as she turns back to them before taking another sip of her tea while Yang stands up.

"Wait, that actually makes sense in a way," Reaper says, gaining the others' attention. "First, think about it. When have we ever heard of Grimm attacking each other or wild animals? Never. That would be possible if someone was telling them to do so, or not to do so. It's like a beehive. The queen bee commands the worker bees, and they follow their queen without question. It does make sense," Reaper explains.

"I see you're smarter than you look, Reaper. I see why Khazhak recruited you," Raven notes.

"Why should we believe any of this?" Yang asks.

"Now you're catching on. So far, you've done nothing but accept what others tell you..." Raven begins as she walks up to Yang and puts her cup down on the table. "But you need to question everything," Raven says as Yang stares her down in the eyes defiantly. Raven then turns around. "Otherwise you'll end up just as stupid as Khazhak, as blind as Qrow... and your fool of a father," Raven says as she glances back at them.

A shot from Ember Celica is heard, destroying the table. Raven's empty teacup clatters across the floor, stopping when it hits the heel of her boot. Raven looks toward Yang, faintly smiling, seeing that Yang's eyes have turned red now.

"Don't you DARE talk about my family like that!" Yang threatens her, making Weiss stare wide-eyed at her and winch as she raises her voice.

Just then, a weapon is heard being cocked from behind and they look back to see Vernal, aiming a gun with large, circular blades around the barrel at Yang.

"You need to calm down," Vernal warns her, but then hears another weapon being cocked and looks to Lloyd, seeing him aim his left gauntlet's barrel at her.

"And you need to put that down, before I put YOU down," Lloyd threatens her.

Vernal is about to move until she feels the edge of sharp steel on her throat and glances back to see Reaper behind her, with his twin-scythe's blade around her neck.

"Now, now, this is such a 'heart-warming' family reunion. I'd really hate for things to get... bloody," Reaper says darkly.

Vernal looks to Raven, who nods her head, and she lowers her weapon, making Lloyd and Reaper lower theirs.

Weiss reaches up to hold Yang's hand, "Yang, please," she tries to calm her down.

Listen to your friend, Yang. Your teammates never let you down before," Raven notes.

"You don't know the first thing about my teammates! About me! You were never there! You LEFT US!" Yang shouts, and then her eyes turn back to normal. "Why?!" she asks as she calms down and hangs her head in sadness.

"She's got a point Raven. At least her teammates and her friends are there for her. But what about you? Other than that one time on the train, you've never been there for her, so don't pretend to think you know anything and everything about us," Lloyd retorts.

"Yes, what makes you think know so much about us? You may be Khazhak's master, but you are NOT ours," Reaper adds.

"I know more than you realize. Not just about you or your teammates, and not just what I've been told, but things I've seen with my own eyes. I know the Grimm have a leader, I know people and beings who can come back from the dead, I know that magic is real, and I can prove it," Raven says, and then Weiss stands up to join with Yang. "You said Tai told you all about my semblance," she begins and then makes for the back exit of the tent. "Well, I doubt he ever told you what Oz did to my brother and me," she says and then leaves the tent, leaving the four confused.

"Go see for yourself," Vernal says and then leaves herself.

The four glance at each other before nodding and leave to follow Raven, only to find no one there.

"Mom?" Yang calls out.

"Yang, are you okay?" Weiss asks, worried about her friend.

"I'll be fine once we can get her to take us to Ruby," Yang says as she looks around for her mother.

"Take it easy Yang. Don't let her get under your skin," Lloyd says.

"You guys don't believe what she said, right?" Yang asks them.

"With the Grimm having a master, possibly, but the rest, I don't think so," Reaper notes.

"Well, I... of course not. Well, not all of it. It was crazy. We have Dust, Semblances... But, I mean, there's no such thing as magic," Weiss says.

Just then, they hear a bird caw and look up to see a raven flying above them.

"A raven?" Weiss mutters.

"I've... seen that bird before," Yang notes.

"Something doesn't feel right about it," Lloyd adds, tensing up a bit.

"Maybe it belongs to your mom?" Weiss asks.

The four continue to watch the raven fly in the dusk-colored sky. It descends, flying and weaving between the trees, before shapeshifting into Raven herself. Raven lands back on the ground on her feet, while the four have new shocked expressions as she stands back up.

"How... did you do that?" Yang slowly asks.

Raven smirks, "Well, I could explain it to you..." she trails off and then draws her sword, slashing behind her, and creating a portal with her semblance. "... or you could ask your uncle," she says.

"You're letting us go?" Yang asks, surprised.

"I'm giving you a choice," Raven begins while sheathing her sword. "Stay here, with me, and I'll answer all your questions and more. We can have a fresh start. Or... you can go back to Qrowand Khazhak and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem, and meet the same fate as so many others. But can you really go back to trusting someone that's kept so much from you?" Raven asks as she stands aside from the portal.

Weiss is a little timid, while the other three just glare at Raven; Yang most of all.

"All I care about is making sure my sister is safe," Yang declares.

"Ugh...," Raven groans, dissapointed in Yang's choice.

A moment later, Yang and Weiss are seen riding on Bumblebee, with Reaper and Lloyd walking beside them towards the portal. However, before they can enter the portal, Raven addresses her daughter one more time.

"Yang. If you side with your uncle, I may not be as kind the next time we meet..." Raven tells her.

Weiss just rolls her eyes and looks ahead while Yang glares at her mother one more time.

"You weren't kind this time either," Yang says.

Yang and Weiss proceed through the portal on Bumblebee, leaving just Raven, Lloyd, and Reaper.

"I know...," Raven mutters and then looks to the other two. "What about you two? Are you still so keen on following Khazhak, even though he'll be leading you to your own deaths? That he is just as big a fool as Qrow?" she asks them.

"Unlike you Raven, we won't run away and abandon our family. We'll fight to the end," Lloyd says.

"Yes, and unlike you, we won't let our FEAR control us," Reaper adds before the pair proceed through the portal and then the portal disappears.

Raven sighs, "If only they weren't as foolish as you... my apprentice," she mutters.

…

Back in Mistral, Qrow is seen leaning against a stone railing after searching for more huntsmen to join them... and finding none that are able to join, mostly because those that don't serve the council are already off on missions... and are most likely never coming back.

"This isn't right. I get one or two of them, but... all of them? How could so many wind up missing, dead, or just... not here at all?" Qriw mutters. He sighs and hangs his head in disappointment. Suddenly, he hears the sound of Raven's portal behind him. "Raven?" he says. The sound of a motorcycle is heard coming from the portal. "...Oh," he mutters in surprise.

...

Back at the house, Ruby's group is preparing dinner, with Ruby and Ren at the stove, Nora cutting up some vegetables (and eating some of them), Voshkie'ahk making a few sidedishes, and Jaune setting up the table, while Khazhak helps prepare the drinks. Yukari is currently out at the moment, and Oscar has yet to return from the training room.

"Alright, the first batch is just about done," Ren says.

"Awesome! Now we just need Qrow and we'll be all set," Ruby replies.

"Don't forget Yukari. She should be back soon," Voshkie'ahk adds.

Nora is eating one of the carrots, "Do you really think Qrow's gonna bring that many people? This is a lot of food," she says, eating another carrot.

"Nora, stop eating all the food!" Khazhak tells her.

"Well, to answer Nora' question, I don't know, but it sounds like we could use all the help we can get," Ruby says.

A door is heard being opened and closed, "I'm back!" they hear Qrow call out.

"Be right there!" Ruby yells back.

Khazhak looks at her food, "You're not cooking it right. You're gonna burn it," he notes.

"No I'm not, shut up!" Ruby retorts.

"Hey, uh, Ruby?" Qrow calls out.

"I'm coming!" Ruby calls back, but then stops when some smoke comes out of her pot. "Ugh, fine, you take over, Khazhak," Ruby relents and Khazhak takes her place with the pot.

"Thank God," Khazhak mutters, making Ren chuckle.

Ruby grabs the tea tray and heads to the living room while Khazhak helps cook the pan.

Ruby looks at the tray as she walks into the living room, "So, we didn't know how many people were coming, so we just cooked all of it," she says and then looks up, only to gasp and drop the tray, breaking all its contents. Standing before her is Qrow, but also Reaper, Lloyd, her teammate Weiss, but most of all, her sister Yang, who slowly approaches Ruby. Ruby's voice starts to crack, "Yang, I... I'm so sorry! I-I should've stayed, and I should've talked to you more! I'd- I just... I wasn't sure if you wanted me around and-," she says, tears beginning to form in her eyes, until she stops when Yang suddenly wraps her sister in a big, warm hug.

Tears form in her eyes as Yang holds her sister closer, "...I love you," she says.

Ruby sobs as she leans into her sister's hug, "I love you too," she says, hugging her back.

Jaune, Ren and Nora enter the room, smiling at the sight of the two sisters embracing each other. Qrow smiles as well. Oscar Pine enters the room and smiles a bit. Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk join them and smile at the heartfelt reunion. Weiss smiles as she wipes a tear from her eye, before she starts frowning and looks away.

"Weiss," Ruby says, gaining her attention.

Weiss looks up, and sees the two sisters open their arms up for her. She smiles and eagerly joins them in their hug. Everyone smiles as they watch three of the four Team RWBY members embrace each other. Lloyd and Reaper look to see Khazhak, who returns the look. Lloyd runs at him, arms open wide, only to receive a punch to the face which sends him to the ground.

"Ow! What is this, punch Lloyd day?!" he says, rubbing his left cheek.

"Yes..." Khazhak begins before extending a hand to him, which Lloyd takes, and pulls him back up. Reaper then joins them. "It's good to see you two again. Good job on completing your missions... and welcome back, my comrades," he says.

Lloyd and Reaper smile and clasp their hands together with his before looking back to the reunion between Weiss, Yang, and Ruby, who ignored their reunion, too engrossed in their own.

 _"Now, there's only one left,"_ Khazhak mentally notes before he loses his smile, and takes on a more serious look.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Three members of Teams RWBY and KEPL are now reunited in Mistral, with Reaper and Lloyd's group learning some of the truths that Ruby and Khazhak's group have already learned. Now that just leaves Porphyrius and Blake. However, it seems Khazhak is planning something, and it involves the members of Team RWBY. How will Lloyd and Reaper's group handle learning more of the 'truth' about what's really going on in Remnant? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	85. Chapter 85: Rest and Resolutions

**Here we are at Chapter 80. Now that three members of both Teams KEPL and RWBY have reunited, things may get a little bit more interesting. Again, updates won't be as frequent because of school starting up again, but I'll try to update them as soon as I can. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 80. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 80: Rest and Resolutions**

"So, Weiss Schnee is no longer the heir to the Schnee Dust Company," Khazhak says.

Khazhak, Reaper, and Lloyd are in Khazhak's room, with Khazhak looking out the room window with his arms crossed, while his teammates give him the details of what has happened since they last saw each other in Vale.

"Yes. After speaking out about how stupid and pathetic the elitists of Atlas are, which I completely agree with, and I made a little display at her father's expense, I found out a little later that Jacques Schnee disinherited Weiss and transferred that privilege to her scheming, selfish little weasel brother, Whitley. Honestly, it took every ounce of self-control I had not to gut him like a fish with my scythe right then and there," Reaper explains.

Khazhak hums a bit, "Hmm, that may cause some problems for us should we ever have to travel to Atlas again. Continue, Reaper," he beckons him.

Reaper nods, "After that, I helped Weiss realize what she needs to do to regain her freedom, and she and I began working on the summoning aspect of her semblance. She eventually mastered her summoning, and with the help of her butler, Klein, who is more loyal to Weiss than he is to her father, we managed to escape the mansion, stow away on a ship, and eventually come to Anima. You know what happens after that," Reaper finishes his story.

"I see. And what about you, Lloyd? What of Yang's progress?" Khazhak asks.

"Yes, brother. Well, it took a lot of convincing from me, her father, and some of our old teachers from Beacon, but she finally decided to put on the prosthetic arm that General Ironwood sent her. He finally did something smart for once... That tasted awful to say. Anyway, Taiyang and I began helping her to get back into fighting shape, and we talked a little bit about Raven. Soon enough, we decided it was time to find you and Ruby. We came to Anima, deciding to go to Raven in order to use her semblance to short cut our way to you and Ruby. Of course, that didn't go exactly as planned. But, we eventually got her to send us here, and the rest is history," Lloyd explains.

"I see. Smart to use Raven's semblance to get a path straight to us. Well done. Anyway, anything else to note about?" Khazhak asks.

Reaper and Lloyd glance at each other, "Actually, brother, while we were there, Raven told us some... interesting things. And showed us some things as well," Lloyd says.

"I'm sure she did. All in order to get Yang to join her. Similar to how she's tried to get me to join her in the past. Well, whatever she told you, it would be best to discuss it with the others later tonight," Khazhak says as he turns to them.

"Actually, Khazhak, there is one other thing," Reaper says.

"What is it?" Khazhak asks. Reaper pulls out a flash drive. "What's that?" he asks.

"Proof... Proof of Jacques Schnee's connection to the deaths of Porphyrius' parents," Reaper replies. Lloyd's eyes widen a bit, while Khazhak narrows his eyes. "What do you want me to do with it?" Reaper asks.

Khazhak thinks for a moment, "...Hold onto to it for now. Porphyrius needs to hear this. After that, we'll decide on a course of action from there. For now, we need to focus on things here in Mistral," Khazhak decides.

"Understood, brother," Lloyd says, while Reaper puts the flash drive away and nods in agreement.

Khazhak walks up to them, and then surprisingly, pulls both in for a quick hug, shocking both of them.

"I've missed you, my old friends. It's good to see you two again," Khazhak says.

The two return the hug, "It's good to be back, brother," Lloyd says.

"We're a team. No matter what, we always stick together," Reaper adds.

They separate, "Come on, we should be getting back to the others. Wouldn't want Nora to eat everything before we get some," Khazhak says.

…

Downstairs, the rest of the party are having good conversation around the dinner table.

"So, Ruby, give me the juice. Has anything happened between you and Khazhak yet?" Yang asks her sister.

"Huh, what do you mean?" Ruby asks, not getting it.

Yang facepalms, "What I mean is... did you to get together? Are you a couple? Have you even kissed yet?!" Yang asks with increasing volume.

At hearing that, Ruby starts blushing, "Um, well, uh, you see, um..." she stutters and trails off.

"Come on, Ruby, just spit it out. She'll find out sooner or later," Weiss says.

Ruby sighs, "...Well... we talked and we got really close. We said how we feel about each other, and... we kissed," Ruby admits, her face a deep red.

"FINALLY!" Yang exclaims, arms up high.

"YANG!" Ruby whines, embarrassed.

"Calm down, Ruby. You and Khazhak like each other. There's nothing to be embarrassed about that," Ren tries to be supportive.

"Until Yang starts making it so embarrassing that Ruby dies of embarrassment," Nora jokes.

Ruby covers her red face in her hands.

"Alright, enough about my sister. Let's talk about me and THIS," Yang says as she stands up, walks around the table, and shows off her new arm. Everyone looks on in awe, with Ruby getting stars in her eyes. "It's not a replacement for the real thing, but I'll be sure to make good use out of it," Yang notes.

"That's amazing," Jaune notes.

Ruby zips over to inspect the arm, "And it's just as strong?" Ruby asks.

"Hm, sure is," Yang replies. Ruby steps back and Yang starts throwing a few moch punches in the air. "I've gotten pretty good with this arm, and it hasn't failed me yet," she says.

However, when Yang throws another punch, her right hand is suddenly caught in the grasp of Khazhak's prosthetic left hand. Yang looks surprised, as does everyone else. However, Khazhak just grunts in disappointment before flinging Yang over himself and slamming her onto the floor.

"Ow! Hey, what's the big-," Yang begins, until she sees the tip of Khazhak's left armblade just an inch from her face. "...Idea?" Yang mutters.

"If you ask me, that new arm of yours still leaves a LOT to be desired," Khazhak says before retracting his armblade and walking around her.

Yang gets up and she and Weiss finally get a good look at his left arm, remembering how he lost his.

"So, I guess Ironwood made you a new arm too," Yang notes.

"Don't insult me, Yang. Have you forgotten how much I despise the Atlas military? Not only for what they did to Lloyd, but also for that idiot, Ironwood's, mistakes back in Vale that led to so many innocent deaths. I got this arm from an acquaintance of mine who is a prosthetic engineer, and they owed me a favor after I helped them out with one job in the past. That's all. But, unlike yours, mine is designed specifically for combat, and made to work with my semblance and my fighting style. Don't think it's the same as the one you got from Atlas," Khazhak corrects her.

"Well, I see things are getting lively in here," they hear and look over to see Voshkie'ahk enter the room.

Weiss recognizes her, "Hey, I remember you. You're that girl that helped us during the battle for Beacon. What are you doing here? And for that matter, who are you?" Weiss asks.

Voshkie'ahk bows to them, "A pleasure to meet more of Ruby's teammates. My name is Voshkie'ahk Ryukado. I'm Khazhak's younger sister," she says.

That gets the two girls' attention, "Wait, what?! But, Khazhak said you were dead!" Yang yells.

"I know I said that, but as it turns out she survived the night my home was destroyed. Your uncle, Qrow, rescued her that night. It's a long story," Khazhak tells them.

"Wait, so she survived?" Weiss asks, but then remembers how Voshkie'ahk winked at her back at Beacon. "On another matter, what was the deal with you winking at me?" Weiss asks.

Voshkie'ahk starts playing with her hair a little bit, "Oh, that. My apologies. I guess my girlfriend's habits sort of rubbed off on me a little. I didn't mean to disturb or offend you if that's what you were thinking," she explains.

Before Weiss can ask any further, a new voice enters the party.

"My, my, look what the snowman dragged in," they hear, and Weiss quickly gets a displeased look on her face as she looks over to see Yukari join the fun. "Been a while, Ice Queen," Yukari greets her.

Weiss quickly gets angry, "YOU! What are YOU doing here?!" Weiss seethes.

"I see your little return trip back to Atlas hasn't done anything to cool down that temper of yours. What a shame," Yukari mocks her.

"What do you think you're doing here?!" Weiss asks.

"Well, this IS my home after all," Yukari notes.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Khazhak asks.

"Yes, a little. You see, the SDC wanted to start doing business with my company a while back. However, I wanted no part in working with that bastard, Jacques Schnee, so I refused. He didn't like that," Yukari notes.

"Yes, and you constantly insulted me for my choice of clothing," Weiss angrily adds.

"Because you lack a proper sense of style," Yukari calmly retorts, smirking.

"Yukari, please, don't go starting fights again. It's bad enough when I have to play mediator between you and Master Qrow," Voshkie'ahk pleads.

"Oh, come now, Voshkie darling. I'm just having a little fun. I overheard what you said earlier. You weren't thinking of cheating on me, were you?" Yukari asks in mock hurt.

"What, no of course not! You're the only one for me, Yukari. I'd walk through Hell and back if I could be with you," Voshkie'ahk says.

Yukari giggles, "Oh, I'm just messing with you dear," she says.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Yang asks.

"Know each other? We are hopelessly in love with each other. Something you would know nothing about, Ice Queen," Yukari says, taunting Weiss.

"Excuse me?! What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss says as she gets in Yukari's face.

"It means that your heart is as small as your chest is FLAT," Yukari retorts, holding her arms under her chest and bouncing her breasts up a bit.

"EXCUSE ME?!" Weiss grits her teeth as her face turns red with rage.

"Calm down Weiss. No need to go killing anyone here," Ruby tries to calm down her partner.

 _"Wow, who knew that there was someone out there that could get under Weiss' skin better than I can. Also, who knew that Khazhak's sister is actually gay, or that she's still alive for that matter,"_ Yang thinks as she watches the show.

Lloyd and Reaper watch the scene, "Wow, who knew?" Lloyd mutters.

"Who knew what?" Reaper asks.

"Who knew that Khazhak's sister is not only smoking hot, but that she's into girls," Lloyd whispers.

"Better make sure Khazhak doesn't hear that," Reaper whispers back.

"How can 11 kids possibly make so much noise eating dinner?!" they hear and look over to see Qrow enter the fray, with Oscar standing next to him.

…

A little later, the group relocate to the living room, except for Yukari who was asked to vacate the area for a little while (she only agreed to do so if Voshkie'ahk would let her dress her up after they were done and she got back. Voshkie'ahk reluctantly agreed). In the living room, Yang and Weiss are sitting on one couch, with Lloyd and Reaper standing behind them, while Ozpin sits on the lover's seat, Ruby, Ren, and Nora sit on the other couch, and everyone else stands around the table. The group had just finished filling the four in on what they've been told so far from Qrow and Ozpin.

"So, the Maidens, the Relics, magic, and Salem. All of it is true?" Weiss asks.

"Uh-huh," Qrow replies.

Lloyd crosses his arms, "Man, and here I was hoping that Raven was just playing games with us," Lloyd says.

"Miss Xiao Long, is this more or less what your mother told you?" Ozpin asks.

However, Yang doesn't respond while keeping her arms crossed. Weiss seems a little worried for her friend, and so she answers for her.

"For the most part," Weiss says.

"You forgot something. You forgot to tell everyone what you did to Qrow and my mother," Yang says, making Ruby gasp and the others widen their eyes.

"What is she talking about?" Ren asks.

"Oh, great," Qrow mutters.

"Hm, that's not a secret I thought she would give up so easily. Your mother must trust you a great deal," Ozpin says.

"More like trying to use whatever means she could to get us to join her side. Pitifully, I might add," Reaper notes.

"I see. Well, my ability to reincarnate, though a curse, isn't without a few key benefits. Much like the Maidens, I too possess a certain... magical power. Using this power, I was able to gift the Branwen twins the ability to 'see' more, to move freely and be unburdened by their natural bodies. I... well... gave them the ability to turn into birds. Heh-heh-heh, rather ridiculous sounding out loud, isn't it?" Ozpin explains while walking up to stand next to Qrow.

 _"Wait, what?"_ Oscar asks mentally.

"And yet another secret Raven kept from me," Khazhak mutters.

"Uncle?" Ruby says.

"You turned them... into birds," Ren says, still stunned by the revelation.

"Okay, now you're just messing with us," Nora notes.

"What else is new?" Jaune notes, crossing his arms and angry at having more secrets kept from them.

"He's telling the truth. We all saw it. We saw how Raven... changed, right in front og us," Lloyd says.

Yang glares at Ozpin, "Why would you do something like that? I mean, what is wrong with you?" she asks, angry.

"Yang, that's enough! We made a choice. We wanted this," Qrow tells her, defending Ozpin, and Yang relents.

Ozpin looks to Qrow, "May I?" he asks, and Qrow nods. "Granting this power to them was no trivial task, and I can assure you it was not done frivolously. I required assistance in gathering information on Salem's plans, as well as searching for Maidens when their hosts became unclear," he explains.

"Okay, so, have you done this with others? Like General Ironwood? Or Professor Goodwitch?" Ruby asks.

"Bad idea there, Ruby. Giving Ironwood even more power would just make things worse for all of us. That idiot has caused enough problems with the power he already possesses," Khazhak says.

Ozpin ignores Khazhak's words, "As helpful as that might be, unfortunately, it is not that simple. My power is finite, and if I'm being honest, dwindling. The amount that I gifted to Qrow and Raven was, all things considered, rather miniscule. You see, centuries ago, I sacrificed a great deal of magic to four young women, who I hoped would use my gift for good. They were the first Maidens. Miss Xiao Long, it was never my intention to lie to you. To any of you. There are just some matters that I prefer to... 'play close to the chest'. I believe that's how you phrased it?

Qrow chuckles, "Heh-heh-heh, yeah," he replies.

"Everyone has a choice. The Branwens chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, one of them chose to abandon her duties in favor of her own self-interest. Now, all of you have a choice. If anyone wishes to leave, now is the time. There's no shame or disgrace in abstaining, only in retreat," Ozpin says. However, no one makes any notion about leaving the mission. Ozpin turns back to them, "Very well, then," he says., but then Yang stands up.

"Yang?" Ruby asks her sister.

"If Ruby sticks around, then I will too. If there's one thing I know about her, it's that she somehow always knows the right thing to do. But, if we're going to help, if we're going to keep risking our lives, no more lies. No more half-truths," Yang asks.

Ozpin thinks upon her words before smiling, "As you wish," he says, and Yang sits back down.

"Well, at least Yang and I can agree on one thing. We're both here for Ruby, albeit for different reasons," Khazhak begins as he slowly walks around the table. "I am here for Ruby, because I want to help her achieve her goals, because I want to protect her and her light. I know she will always do what's right. I want to be there for her because she's the most important person to me," Khazhak says as he stands before Ruby, making her blush a bit. "And finally, I want to help Ruby... because she is my master," he says as he kneels before Ruby, shocking the new additions to the group.

"Wait... What?" Weiss asks.

"Khazhak, do you mean..." Reaper trails off.

Khazhak stands back up, "Yes, I have sworn an oath of eternal loyalty to Ruby. I obey any orders she gives me without question. I go where she goes, and I will always fight be her side and be there for her whenever she needs me," he explains.

"I see. Well then, if you're sure about this, then I'm with you all the way," Reaper notes.

"Same here, brother," Lloyd adds.

Yang stands up, "Well, whatever the reason; thanks for being there for my sister when I wasn't," Yang says as she walks up to Khazhak and offers her hand.

However, the second she does, is the second Khazhak spitefully slaps it away, shocking everyone.

"I didn't do it for you. I did it for Ruby. That's all that matters to me. I didn't do it for someone who suffered one bad loss and then turns her back on her family," Khazhak replies, subtle anger in his speech as he makes note of Yang's past mistake.

This further shocks everyone, Yang and Weiss most of all. Khazhak just grunts and walks past Yang to stand where he was originally, and Yang goes to sit back down next to Weiss. In an effort to change the subject before things get tense, Jaune speaks up.

"So... what now? I mean, what can we do?" Jaune asks.

"Mm, that is a difficult question. One that I believe is best answered tomorrow," Ozpin says.

"How so?" Reaper asks.

"The road ahead is undoubtedly filled with hardships and peril. However, it's been far too long since you have all been together. Please, take tonight, enjoy this moment," Ozpin says as he walks up to put a supportive hand on Yang's shoulder, making her smile a bit.

Suddenly Ozpin's eyes glow green as he gives Oscar back the control of his body. Oscar then sees the position he's in next to Yang, and freaks out as he steps back, making Yang and Weiss laugh a bit.

"Oooohhh," Nora suddenly says, gaining everyone's attention. "Raven? Qrow? They're birds! Cracked it!" she says, feeling proud of herself.

Ren shakes his head at Nora being slow on the uptake, while Khazhak facepalms.

 **"You didn't think it was a good idea to tell them about myself or Tiamat?"** Bahamut asks.

 _"No, not yet. One more piece remains. I can't move on to the next step until Porphyrius returns with Blake. Only then will I reveal you to them... And then see whether or not they can survive,"_ Khazhak mentally replies.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Yang's group are informed about Salem, the Relics, and the Maidens. Now, most of the players know the game. However, it seems Khazhak has another play in store, but what exactly is it? What will our heroes do when the appointed hour comes? What about Porphyrius and Blake? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	86. Chapter 81: Passion and Pain

**Here we are at Chapter 81. Time to get back to Blake and Porphyrius a bit, along with some more Khazhak and Ruby. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 81. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 81: Passion and Pain**

It has been a couple of days since Yang, Weiss, Lloyd, and Reaper rejoined Khazhak and Ruby in Mistral, and things were going well for the most part. Ruby is glad to have most of her team back together, and Khazhak is glad that his comrades are back so he won't have to worry about losing his mind with all the craziness that has been going on since their separation. Of course, that includes the occasional episodes involving Yukari getting on Weiss' bad side, and Voshkie'ahk trying to keep the peace between them. Of course, another slight issue is that whenever Yang or Weiss try to make light conversation with Khazhak, he seems to only give them a few words and then leaves, seeming like he'd rather do anything other than talk with them. Yang and Weiss are a little concerned about it, but give him his space, thinking that he's been through a lot since Beacon and is just having trouble readjusting to how things were long ago.

Currently, Ruby is in her room, doing maintenance on Crescent Rose. A few minutes later, someone knocks on the door.

"Come in. The door's unlocked," Ruby replies, and a moment later, sees Khazhak walking inside. "Oh, hey Khazhak, what's up?" she asks.

"How are you feeling, Ruby?" Khazhak asks as he stands next to her.

"Oh, I'm doing fine. Just working on my Crescent Rose a bit. Need to keep it in top condition. Do you need anything?" Ruby asks.

Khazhak glances away, _"I can't believe I let them convince me to do this. Team JNPR owes me big time,"_ Khazhak thinks. "Well, Ruby, I was hoping to make a request of you?" he asks.

"A request? For what?" Ruby blinks.

Khazhak rubs the back of his head and sighs, "Listen. I know you haven't really been to Mistral before, and that we're kind of... together now. So, I was wondering if... if you would... like to..." Khazhak trails off, getting nervous for the first time in a long while.

"Khazhak... are you... asking me out on a date?" Ruby asks, getting hopeful as she stands up with a slight blush.

"I'm... trying... It's not going very well," Khazhak replies, equally blushing like Ruby.

"Except I accept the offer. I've been wanting to go on a date with you for a while now!" Ruby cheers.

"You... You have?" Khazhak asks, a little surprised.

"Yes. I know a lot has been going on, so we didn't really have the time. But anyway, when can we go?" Ruby eagerly asks.

"How about later this afternoon?" Khazhak suggests.

"Yes, sounds awesome. I shall be awaiting my chariot," Ruby replies.

She grabs her weapon and then walks out, giving Khazhak a quick peck on the cheek before she goes. Khazhak remains standing there, stunned, as he raises a hand to where Ruby kissed him.

"I could get used to this," Khazhak mutters, smiling a bit.

…

Meanwhile, in Menagerie, Blake Porphyrius, and Sun return to the Belladonna household after another day of trying to get signatures for the mission to Haven, and getting no one that was willing to help them on their quest sign the petition.

"Well, that didn't go so well," Porphyrius notes.

"Hey, at least you almost didn't get squashed by a falling tree. I swear, it's like those guys wait for me to show up, and then get ready to turn me into a monkey sandwich," Sun complains.

Blake sighs in exhaustion, "I need some time to think. There's gotta be a better way of getting people to help us stop the White Fang," Blake says and walks away, leaving the two boys behind.

Porphyrius just watches her go with a weird look in his eye. Blake comes outside her father's study, looking out into the blue sky, with many thoughts on her mind.

 _"If we don't get enough people to help us, then we won't have the strength needed to protect Haven. I just wish the Faunus here would see that letting Adam do as he pleases won't help them in any way possible,"_ Blake thinks. Just then, she hears someone walk up behind her and looks back to see Porphyrius, with Gambol Shroud in his hands, and his own weapon on his back. "Porphyrius? What are you doing with my weapon?" she asks.

Porphyrius tosses Gambol Shroud to her and she catches it, looking at her weapon before looking back to him.

"Come with me," Porphyrius says, sounding like he's leaving no room for discussion.

Blake stands there in confusion for a moment before deciding to follow him and see what he has in mind. Blake follows him until they are outside the house, in the center of the backyard in a wide-opened space.

"Okay, Porphyrius, why did you bring me out here?" Blake asks, Gambol Shroud strapped to her back.

"Simple," Porphyrius says, and then activates his weapon before making a sudden charge at Blake.

Blake gasps and has barely enough time to activate her semblance to avoid the attack, with Porphyrius slashing through the shadow clone. He then goes on the attack again by firing off his rifles at Blake. Blake backflips away several times to avoid the rounds, and then pulls out her blade.

"What's the big idea, Porphyrius?!" Blake yells.

"Just a little something that can take care of a few goals at once. Now then, less talking, more fighting," Porphyrius says, switching his weapon around to its brawler form.

Porphyrius jumps at Blake, with the cat Faunus using her blade to block a series of gravity enhanced punches from Porphyrius' gauntlets. He comes in with a right uppercut which Blake blocks, though it sends her flying up into the air. He fires off his rifles again at her, but she uses her semblance again to move away from the bullets' path and get back on the ground. Seeing no other option, Blake has no choice but to fight back as she runs at Porphyrius, who meets her charge head-on. Porphyrius jumps up, right arm reeled back before taking a swing aimed at Blake's skull. Blake rolls under the attack and switches her sword into its chain-scythe form and throws it at him. Porphyrius leans to the right to dodge it, but Blake pulls hard on the ribbon, pulling her weapon's trigger and making the weapon bounce back Porphyrius' rear. Porphyrius flips over the attack and then fires off his rifles at his opponent. Blake runs across the dirt, using her blade to block any bullets that come too close. Porphyrius holds his fire and runs at her again. The two meet with their blades clashing.

"Why are you doing this, Porphyrius?!" Blake yells as sparks fly from their blades.

Porphyrius makes no answer other than the narrowing of his eye, before kicks Blake back. Activating his semblance, he fires off his gravity shots at Blake. Knowing what will happen if they connect, Blake uses her agility to avoid each shot before retaliating with her own gunfire. Porphyrius stops firing and holds his blades in front of him to block the shots. Blake uses this chance to throw her chain-scythe at one nearby tree, the blade stabbing into the bark. She runs and uses on of her shadow clones to swing her into the air, swinging around the tree towards Porphyrius. Porphyrius sees this coming as purple flames erupt from his eyepatch, his gravity semblance expanding from him. When Blake gets close enough, she suddenly falls to the ground on her hands and knees as Porphyrius stands before her.

"You'll have to do better than that," Porphyrius says, aiming his right rifle at her.

…

In Mistral, Khazhak waits outside the house for Ruby so they may begin their date.

 **"I can sense your uneasiness. Is such an endeavor such as a date really so dangerous to you?"** Bahamut asks.

"It's not like a battle, Bahamut. Battles I can do, but matters of the heart are more... complicated," Khazhak replies.

 **"Well, I'm sure you'll figure something out. I'll leave you to your time with the Silver-Eyed girl,"** Bahamut says before returning deep within Khazhak's mind.

A moment later, Ruby exits the home to join Khazhak, "So, you ready, Khazhak?" Ruby asks.

"I guess so. I feel I must apologize beforehand. I'm afraid I'm not very experienced in this sort of stuff," Khazhak says.

"Well, neither am I, but that's what first dates are all about. Come on, let's go have some fun," Ruby says, wrapping her arms around Khazhak's right.

The two travel down to one of the districts below theirs, taking in the sights. While Khazhak is already familiar with Mistral, Ruby, being here for the first time in her life, is practically gawking at all the stands, shops, and anything else that catches her eye. Though they saw some of this stuff when they first arrived in Mistral a while back, they didn't really have the time to look, until now.

"Ooh, look there. Let's get something to eat at that food stand," Ruby says, almost pulling Khazhak with her.

The pair hit the food stand, grabbing a couple of hot dogs before going on their way. The pair eventually reach a park area in the kingdom and decide to take a stroll through the park. Despite it being the middle of the day, the park doesn't have too many people around, which suits them just fine. The nice, cool weather and the sunny skies only makes the mood more peaceful for their date. After finishing their hot dogs, Khazhak leads Ruby to a local pond. Ruby sees some fish jumping out of the water with each other, making her show a huge smile. Khazhak doesn't really see the appeal, but if it makes Ruby smile, then he'll roll with it as long as possible. Eventually, the pair find a bench underneath a cherry blossom tree, with all the pink flowers in full bloom.

"Aw, this is so nice," Ruby notes, looking up at the tree and the sky.

"It is peaceful. It feels a little off, but I guess that's just me because I'm not used to this stuff," Khazhak says, sitting next to her.

"Khazhak, don't worry. I'm sure you'll get used to it soon enough... I mean, we'll have... more dates like this... right?" Ruby asks, blushing a bit.

Khazhak blushes back, "Would... Would you like that?" he asks.

Ruby smiles and leans in to him, "I'd love that. I'm happy because I get to be here with you, Khazhak," she says.

Khazhak leans back, "And I feel the same way about you," he says, and then gets an idea. Standing up, and nearly making Ruby fall over, Khazhak turns and kneels before her, taking her hand in his. "I'm sure there will be many battles ahead for us. This battle with Salem will not end so easily, but... maybe after all that is done... Would you like to go on another date with me, Ruby?" Khazhak asks.

Ruby blushes a deep red. This feeling, this atmosphere. It's almost like he's proposing to her. However, Ruby shakes that thought out of her head and smiles back at Khazhak.

'I'd like that. I'd really like that a lot," Ruby says.

Khazhak smiles before a sudden wind blows by, causing some of the cherry blossoms to fall off the tree towards the ground. He catches one in his hand and reaches up to place it in between Ruby's hair and her left ear, making the cloak-wearing girl blush again.

"It suits you," Khazhak notes.

Ruby stares at the blossoms in her hair for a moment before smiling back at Khazhak.

…

Back in Menagerie, Blake stares up as Porphyrius has his semblance active and his right arm rifle aimed at her head. He fires a shot that hits Blake, only for her to disappear, revealing that it was just a shadow clone. Deactivating his semblance, he narrows his eye before Blake attacks from behind, swinging her katana down. However, the blade is stopped when it collides with the backpack section of his weapon. Blake gasps as Porphyrius glances back at her.

"Nice try, but again, you'll have to do better than that," Porphyrius notes.

He kicks her away before firing off his rifles again. Blake rolls out of the way of a few bullets and then pulls out her sheathe blade. Using both blades, she runs at Porphyrius while deflecting the rounds. When she gets close, she jumps into the air, spinning around as she swings her blades at her opponent. Porphyrius swings his blades to meet hers before they push back from one another. Porphyrius charges, swinging his right blade at her, which she jumps over. Porphyrius then backflips before twisting around to through a roundhouse kick. Blake ducks under the kick and swings her left blade up, causing Porphyrius to block it with his right. She then makes a few swings with her blades, which Porphyrius blocks with his own. As Blake spins around, she changes her katana to its chain-scythe form and comes back around to fire her pistol at Porphyrius' head. He leans his head left, with the bullet just grazing his right cheek. Gritting his teeth, Porphyrius switches his weapon back to its brawler mode and throws a left punch downwards at Blake. Blake backflips away, making Porphyrius destroy the ground she was just standing on. Rushing at her, Porphyrius throws punch after punch, enhanced by his semblance. Blake does her best to evade each punch, but when she tries to make a counter attack, Porphyrius hits her with a backflip kick that stagger her and then nails her with a right punch that sends he crashing into a nearby tree.

"Come on, your heart's not in this fight. If it was, you'd have been able to put up more of a fight," Porphyrius notes as he switches back to his blades.

Blake staggers to her feet, "Just tell me why are you doing this?" Blake asks.

"For a few reasons really. One: I never gave you the beating you deserved after you abandoned your friends. Two: just something to get your mind off our little predicament here in Menagerie. And three: to get you ready for the upcoming battles. There's no point in mulling over what we can't do. Let's focus on what we can and keep doing it. Now then, I've told you my reasons, so, shall we continue?" he asks, aiming his rifles at her.

Blake stares at him as his words take hold, _"...Even now, he still thinks about them. He's only like this because he wants to get back to Khazhak and Yang, but knows that he can't do that until things are settled here... and until I'm ready. Well then, I'll show him how ready I am,"_ Blake decides as she readies her blades. "Alright Porphyrius, let's go," she says.

Activating his semblance again, he fires off more of his gravity shots at her. Blake runs by each one by a narrow margin as she gets closer to him. When they get close, Blake jumps up and swings her blades at him. Porphyrius throws a spin kick, but only hits another shadow clone as Blake ends up on his right flank and swings her blades at his side. Porphyrius blocks them and then thrusts his left blade at her face. Blake leans back and backflip kicks the blade away, followed by firing off a shot at Porphyrius that he blocks with his right blade, and then gets kicked in the face by Blake. Blake continues the attack by throwing her chain-scythe at him, Porphyrius swats it away, making it stab into the ground. Blake runs at Porphyrius and he swings his left blade at her. She jumps over him, only to see his right rifle aimed at her in mid-air. She uses a shadow clone to evade the shot and land behind Porphyrius. Pulling hard on her ribbon, she pulls the trigger of her chain-scythe, making it fire and fly at his rear. Porphyrius ducks under the flying chain-scythe, only to get a knee shot to the face, and then a shot to the chest. Luckily, his aura protected him, but it still hurt. Blake attacks again, but he backflips away from Blake as she makes another swing at his head. The two stand off for a moment before rushing at each other again.

The two are about to clash their blades again, only for Porphyrius' blades to suddenly open up a bit, becoming almost like a pair of pincer blades, and catching Blake's swords in the spaces between them. Essentially ensnaring her, Porphyrius head-butts her in the face, followed by a kick to the skull that separates them. Blake shakes her head to regain focus, only to get grabbed by the skull and pulled in for a knee shot to the stomach. The wind being knocked out of her, Blake falls onto her knees again. She tries to retaliate, only for Porphyrius to knock the blades out of her hands. She looks up as Porphyrius stands over her, right arm rifle once again aimed at her face. Only this time, her strength has been weakened and she's disarmed.

"Well?" Porphyrius asks.

Blake eventually sighs and lowers her head, "I concede," she admits defeat.

Porphyrius lowers and deactivates his weapon before offering her a hand, "You still have a long way to go before you can beat me, Blake. But... you're making progress," he says, causing Blake to look up him as he shows a small smile.

Blake smiles back before accepting the hand and he pulls her up, and then the two decide to head inside for something to eat.

…

In Mistral, Ruby and Khazhak return back to the house from their date, hand-in-hand.

"This was fun. We really need to do it again sometime," Ruby says, cherry blossoms still in her hair.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Khazhak replies, and Ruby kisses him on the cheek. However, when they get inside, they find a peculiar sight before them. "What. The. Hell?" Khazhak says.

In the living room, they see Team JNPR and Oscar staring at Voshkie'ahk, who is wearing an... interesting outfit. The outfit is a kimono of sorts, with long white sleeves, a black belt around the waist, and a two-section skirt, revealing thigh-high white stockings on her legs, and black sandles. In her hair is what appears to be... golden fox ears? And a golden fox tail on her rear?

"Oh my gosh, isn't she adorable? My cute little fox priestess!" Yukari coos as she hugs her girlfriend, who is blushing madly out of embarrassment.

 _"Someone, please help me,"_ Voshkie'ahk mentally begs, embarrassed beyond belief.

Everyone then looks to Khazhak, his bangs covering his eyes. Ruby gets worried, and then a second later... Khazhak pulls out his Rairyukami, causing them all to freak out. The rest of the day is spent with everyone making sure Khazhak doesn't stick Yukari's head on a pike.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Khazhak and Ruby go out on their first date, while Porphyrius puts Blake through a brutal sparring session. Meanwhile, Yukari continues to get under Khazhak's skin a bit. A little love action for Ruby and Khazhak before the big battle. We go to the others in the next chapter. What will happen next for Teams RWBY and KEPL? Will Yukari survive Khazhak's wrath? Will Voshkie'ahk ever get control of her girlfriend's eccentric tendencies? Until then, please Read Review.**


	87. Chapter 82: The Dragon's Family

**Here we are at Chapter 82. Time for a few more things to be revealed regarding Khazhak's family history. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 82. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 82: A Dragon's Family**

Early in the morning in Mistral, Khazhak is in his room, polishing his arm blades on his bed. A moment later, Voshkie'ahk comes out of the bathroom, dressed in her usual attire, as she finishes putting on the white ribbons in her hair.

"Feeling better now, Khazhak?" Voshkie'ahk asks

"If you're talking about your girlfriend, then yes, I'm fine. I'm not going to try and kill her... for now anyway," Khazhak says, muttering the last part to himself.

Voshkie'ahk laughs nervously a bit, "Don't worry, she means well, even if she doesn't always show it. Well, I'm going to get some breakfast," she says before beginning to leave.

"Have the nightmares gotten any better?" Khazhak asks, stopping her.

"I'm fine, Khazhak," Voshkie'ahk replies, not turning back to him.

"...I should've been faster. I should've protected you. Otherwise, he..." Khazhak trails off.

Voshkie'ahk turns to him and glances back at her back, focused on the long scar covered by her clothes.

"That wasn't your fault, brother," Voshkie'ahk says.

"It might as well have been. If I had been stronger... then he wouldn't have hurt you," Khazhak says.

"You rarely talk about him," Voshkie'ahk notes.

"And I'd prefer not to. I'm gonna go look for the others," Khazhak says as he finishes polishing his blades and then leaves the room, leaving behind a very concerned Voshkie'ahk.

Khazhak heads downstairs, with much on his mind.

 **"Is there something wrong?"** Bahamut asks.

"I'll say this once: just drop it," Khazhak orders him.

 **"The more you keep that storm inside of you, the more it will consume you,"** Bahamut notes.

"Noted," Khazhak replies dismissively.

Khazhak heads outside to the courtyard, only to stop when he sees Ruby, Weiss, and Yang sitting on the ground, having a chat that begins to turn sour.

"I just wish Blake could be here with us," Ruby says.

"Yeah, well, she made her choice," Yang replies, getting bitter.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Weiss asks.

"I mean she could've been here if she just stuck around. It's no big deal though. We'll be fine," Yang replies, subtle anger in her voice.

Ruby and Weiss have concerned expressions on their faces before looking back to her, "Don't you want her here?" Ruby asks.

"Why would I want her here?" Yang shoots the idea down.

"Are you still mad at her for leaving?" Ruby asks, concerned.

Yang scoffs, "Oh, whatever gave you that idea, Ruby? No, I'm totally fine. I'm great," Yang says.

"Okay, calm down," Weiss says.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Yang exclaims, her eyes turning red.

Ruby and Weiss gain startled expressions, "Whoa, Yang," Ruby says.

Yang realizes what she's done and tries to calm down. However, a second later a metal hand clamps down on her left shoulder and she's sent flying back towards the house. She lands and rolls on the ground, getting back up only to see Khazhak as the culprit.

"You know, that poor attitude of yours is starting to piss me off, Yang, among other things," Khazhak says.

"What's your problem?" Yang retorts.

"My problem is a stupid, selfish blonde-headed idiot that can't get over the past and look at the big picture," Khazhak replies.

Yang grits her teeth and charges at Khazhak.

"Yang! Khazhak! Please, don't fight each other!" Ruby yells to no avail.

Yang throws a right punch, only for Khazhak to calmly catch it in his left hand. Khazhak grunts before using his semblance to shock Yang through her metal arm, and then fires off a spark shot that sends her flying back again. Yang gets back up and balls up her fists again.

"You wanna go? Be my guest. But just so you know, the last time you and I squared off, it didn't end well for you. And that's NEVER going to change," Khazhak says, lightning starting to surge around his left arm.

They are about to go at it before Ruby steps in between them, arms out wide.

"Khazhak, that's enough! I don't want you fighting Yang! Yang, that goes for you, too. No fighting Khazhak!" Ruby yells.

Khazhak stares at her for a moment before he relents, "As you wish," he says.

Yang takes a second to calm down and then lowers her head, "Why?" she asks, making the others look at her. "Why did you send Porphyrius to find Blake? Why not have him here to help us? We don't need her. We'll be just fine without her!" Yang yells.

"You forget, I'm doing this for Ruby. Ruby needs Blake, and deep down Yang, you need her too. Even if you won't admit it. Unlike you, I look at the big picture, and the big picture is helping in any way I can," Khazhak says as he walks up to Yang, staring her in the eye. "What you want matters not to me. We need Blake. Porphyrius will come with her. When that happens, you can settle any problems you have with her then. Until then, I suggest you cool off and figure out what's really important," Khazhak says before leaving.

 **"Was that really necessary?"** Bahamut asks.

"I needed to get off my chest. I couldn't wait any longer," Khazhak mutters.

The others watch him leave, leaving Ruby worried more than the rest of them. Khazhak walks back into the house, only to bump into Oscar.

"What's up, Oscar?" Khazhak greets him.

"Um, Ozpin wants to speak with you. And with Voshkie'ahk," Oscar says.

Khazhak sighs, "I'm not really in the mood right now. Can it wait for another time?" he asks as he walks by.

"He said it involves your father," Oscar says, stopping Khazhak dead in his tracks, who looks back at him.

…

In the living room, Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk are standing around the living room table, along with Reaper and Lloyd, while Qrow and Ozpin (in control of Oscar's body) sit on the couch across from them.

"Alright, so what's this business about our father?" Khazhak asks, arms crossed.

"Do they need to be here?" Ozpin asks, referring to Reaper and Lloyd.

"Yes. Now get on with it," Khazhak says, leaving no room for argument.

Ozpin sighs, "Very well. Yang said that there shouldn't be any more half-truths between us, and while I wanted to wait for a more proper time to tell you, we don't really have that option right now. The truth is... your father was working for me as one of my agents," Ozpin admits.

This news shocks the four of them, the Ryu siblings most of all.

"What?" Khazhak asks in disbelief.

"Your father, Azraq, was working for me on secret missions, much like Qrow Branwen," Ozpin begins.

"But, our father never attended Beacon, or any of the huntsmen academies," Voshkie'ahk says.

"Yes, your father's father didn't believe that Azraq could be a skilled enough warrior if he attended the academies, so he trained him himself, much like how Azraq did with you, Khazhak. I came to your father, seeking his aid. After showing him the secret truths of the world, including Salem and the Relics, your father agreed to help us. He went out on missions, gathering information on Salem's objectives, and searching for the Maidens. He kept this secret from you in order to protect you and your family. Though, that didn't seem to help in the end," Ozpin explains.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Khazhak asks, tightening his fists.

"It is my belief that whoever attacked your home all those years ago... was a servant of Salem," Ozpin says. This shocks them even further. "I am truly sorry that you had to learn about these facts this way. It was never my intention to keep these secrets from you. I just... wanted to respect your father's wish by keeping you out of it. Of course, reality has a way of going against us," he says.

Voshkie'ahk has tears threatening to fall from her eyes, "You never told me. All those years I helped you, and you never told me about my father!" she says, caught between anger and sorrow.

"I am sorry, Voshkie'ahk. I should've told you sooner, but I wanted to wait until I believed you were ready to learn the truth," Ozpin apologizes.

Voshkie'ahk clenches her fists before she runs off, trying to hold back her tears.

"Not telling me is one thing, but not telling Voshkie'ahk is another. She deserved to know," Khazhak tells Ozpin, angry.

"I understand your anger towards me, Khazhak. You are right to feel that way. I was simply doing what I felt was the right thing to do," Ozpin defends himself.

"What you feel is right, and what actually IS right, are two different things, Ozpin. Salem may have destroyed my home, but you share some of the blame because you got my family involved in your schemes. My sister went through Hell... because of you," Khazhak says and then leaves to check on his sister.

Reaper and Lloyd glance at each other before heading off in another direction, intent on giving Khazhak some space. Qrow looks at Ozpin.

"It's like every time you open your mouth, you get more and more on Khazhak's bad side," Qrow says.

"He has every right to be angry at me. I'm just as responsible for destroying his family as Salem is," Ozpin sadly notes.

Khazhak walks back inside his room, finding Voshkie'ahk sitting up against a wall, knees to her chest with her arms wrapped around them, and head resting on her knees. When she looks up, Khazhak can see tears falling down her cheeks. Khazhak closes the door and goes to sit next to her, pulling her into a one-armed hug with his left arm. Voshkie'ahk starts to cry even more and hugs her older brother, sobbing in his chest. Khazhak allows her to cry as he holds her close, pulling out his family necklace and staring at it before turning his attention back to his sister.

…

A little later, Yang sits alone on a bed in her room, looking at the "New Friends!" photo of Team RWBY. She hears a knock on the door and quickly puts the photo away.

"Yeah?" Yang calls out. The door opens, but Yang doesn't look up to see who comes in. "Look Ruby, I really don't want to talk about it, okay? Can you just leave me alone for a bit?" Yang says, looking up to see Weiss instead of her sister. "Oh. Hey Weiss. Did you need something?" Yang asks. Weiss says nothing, however, as she closes the door behind her and sits on the bed across from Yang's. Yang sighs, "I know she's our teammate, but I'm not just going to change my mind. I'm sorry, I just... I don't think you know what it's like to be left. You have a giant family, recitals to perform at, dinners to attend. I didn't have any of that. My mom left me. Ruby's mom left too. Tai was always busy with school and Ruby couldn't even talk yet. I had to pick up the pieces. I had to keep things together. Alone... Weiss, if you have something to say, then say it," Yang vents her emotions.

Weiss remains silent for a moment, and then she speaks, "...When I was ten, my dad finally admitted to my mom that the only reason he married her was for the family name," Weiss says and then sighs. "It was actually on my birthday. He missed the big dinner, she got mad, he finally snapped. I think she already knew. Looking back, I think I knew too. But hearing him say it finally pushed her over the edge," she explains before she gets up to sit next to Yang on her bed. "First it was separate lunches and dinners, opposite balconies at my recitals, a glass of wine here, a glass of wine there. Then, it was no dinners, no recitals, a bottle of wine here and... well, you get the idea," Weiss says sadly.

"I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have assumed," Yang apologizes.

"You're right though. I don't know loneliness like you do. I have my own version. And, I'll bet Blake has her own version too," Weiss replies.

"She doesn't have to be alone though. I was here for her. We all were! She chose to leave us," Yang exclaims.

"Why do you think she did that?" Weiss asks inquisitively.

"Hm?" Yang hums.

"The entire time Blake was at Beacon, she was afraid to open up to people. She tried to keep her past separated from us. She tried to protect us. Eventually, those walls she put up came down. And the moment they did, the one thing she was afraid of actually happened. The universe proved her right," Weiss explains.

"No one blamed her for anything! If she had just talked to us, she would've known that! How could I be there for her if she doesn't let me? What if I needed her here for me?" Yang says as she buries her face in her hands sobbing quietly.

Weiss puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know it's not easy. I wish she hadn't left too. The only thing we can do now is be there for her when she's ready. When she comes back. When Porphyrius comes back with her," Weiss says.

Yang lowers her hands from her face, "If they come back. I still don't understand why Porphyrius would go after Blake just because Khazhak told him too," she says.

"He went to find Blake, not just because Khazhak told him to, but because he's also doing it for you," Weiss says, surprising Yang a bit. "I can tell he likes you a lot, and I'll bet that hasn't changed. I'll bet getting you two back together so you can make amends is what's driving him to work so hard and be away from you for so long. That's why he's doing this. For you... And because Khazhak told him to, but you get the idea," Weiss explains.

"Do... Do you really think they'll come back?" Yang asks.

"They will. Khazhak and his teammates are people I consider to be good friends, despite how we started out. But more importantly... Yang... You, Ruby, and even Blake are more like family to me than my brother or even my own father. I would do anything for you three, and I'm willing to bet Blake feels the same way. So, when she's ready, I'll be there for her. And I know we're not as close, but... I'm here for you too," Weiss says, making Yang slowly smile back at her, while she returns the smile.

"Porphyrius will return..." they hear and look to see Voshkie'ahk enter the room, closing the door behind her. "And he'll bring Blake back with him. I may not know Khazhak's teammates like my brother, but I know that when he gives them a task, they complete it, no matter what it takes," she says.

"Hey, Voshkie'ahk, right? I guess you overheard us a bit huh?" Yang asks.

"I didn't mean to pry, but I guess I'm not the only one going through some family stuff right now," Voshkie'ahk says as she goes to sit on the bed across from theirs. "You may not be related by blood, but Weiss is right. Your four, Team RWBY, are a family. I envy you sometimes," Voshkie'ahk says as she looks out the window.

This confuses them, "What are you talking about?" Weiss asks.

"You may have had issues in the past, but you still have a loving family hear, surrounded by people that care about you," Voshkie'ahk replies, starting to look sad.

"What are you talking about? You have your brother, Khazhak, remember?" Weiss notes.

Voshkie'ahk bitterly chuckles, "Yes, I have my brother. A brother I haven't seen in six years. When I lost my parents, and was separated from my brother, I thought he was dead as well. I gave up on the possibility that he was still alive. Back in our old lives, he was always supportive of me, even if I did annoy him at times. He never tried to hurt me or be mean to me. He was the kind of older brother any girl would want. And then he was gone. Years later, I find out that he's still alive. You can't imagine how happy I was to find out that he was alive... And then I saw him..." Voshkie'ahk pauses for a moment, while Yang and Weiss wait for her to continue. "I saw Khazhak, but... he wasn't the Khazhak I remembered. I saw his eyes. There was no light left within them; the same light he once had when we were kids. I couldn't imagine what he'd been through since we were separated. How alone he must have been. And it was then that I felt it... I felt fear. I was AFRAID of my own older brother, the one person that I knew would never hurt me. Can you imagine how disgusted I was with myself at the time? And then to learn what he had been through for all those years. I couldn't just come out and reveal myself to him, no matter ow much I wanted to. And then everything at Beacon happened, and even then, I couldn't really help him," Voshkie'ahk continues, tears falling down her eyes, making the two older girls worry. "All I've ever wanted to do is to help my brother, to repay him for all the kindness he's shown me... and I've failed to do that. I haven't been useful to my brother at all. I've lost the right to be his sister!" Voshkie'ahk says as she's fully crying now, face in her hands and sobbing.

Yang and Weiss quickly move to sit on either side of Voshkie'ahk, placing comforting hands on her shoulder. Weiss coaxes Voshkie'ahk to look at her and pulls out a hankercheif from nowhere and wipes the tears away.

"Don't sell yourself so short. Khazhak missed you so much after you were separated from one another. Ruby told us, and he told her. Sure, he has his teammates, but he only has one sister, and that's you. You love your brother, and he loves you. You being here for him, trying to do whatever you can to help him; that has done more for him than you realize. He's happy that your back in his life again," Weiss says.

"Yeah, and believe me, it's hard for that guy to be really happy. You're back together now, and that's all that matters. Right?" Yang asks.

Voshkie'ahk wipes away the rest of her tears, feeling like a great weight has been lifted off of her shoulders.

"You're right. Thanks, you two. I'm sorry for dropping this on you two. I know you're dealing with your own problems right now," Voshkie'ahk apologizes.

"Hey, it's no problem at all. We may not know each other very well, but in a way, we're family too. And family always helps each other out," Yang says.

The three girls share an emotional hug together, smiles on their faces. Unbeknownst to all of them, Khazhak is outside the room, having heard the conversation with his arms crossed. He sighs before deciding to leave. However, he bumps into Yukari along the way.

"If you're looking for Voshkie'ahk, she's in there," Khazhak says, pointing behind him.

"Oh, I'm aware, but I'll give her a little space for now. Besides, I can always have her to myself later," Yukari notes. Khazhak walks off without saying anything, and Yukari follows, walking beside him. "What? Not going to try and kill me today?" she asks.

Khazhak stops walking, making her do the same, "Keep that up and I will... Listen, Yukari. I want to... thank you... for being there for my sister when I wasn't. You make her happy, and I can appreciate that," Khazhak admits.

Yukari smiles, "I love Voshkie'ahk. I would do anything for her. I decided this the moment I first laid my eyes upon her. Her joy is my greatest desire," Yukari replies.

Khazhak actually smiles a bit, "Well, thank you anyway," he says and walks off.

"Does this mean I have your blessing to marry her?" Yukari jokes.

"Don't push it, Yukari," Khazhak warns her as he leaves. A moment later, he bumps into Ruby. "If you're looking for Yang, she's in her room. Weiss and Voshkie'ahk have helped calm her down," he says.

"Oh, thank you Khazhak. Are you okay?" Ruby asks.

"I'll be fine. I'm... sorry about earlier in the courtyard," Khazhak apologizes.

"I don't like it when you're fighting against my sister, Khazhak. But... I know you mean well. Just try to get along, okay, like old times," Ruby asks him.

"I'll try," Khazhak replies.

"Thank you, Khazhak," Ruby says, planting a kiss on his cheek before leaving, leaving him smiling again.

 **"She has you wrapped around her finger,"** Bahamut notes.

"Shut up," Khazhak tells him.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk learn about Ozpin's connection to their father, and are not happy about it. Meanwhile, Voshkie'ahk bonds with Yang and Weiss, while Khazhak buts heads with both Yang and Yukari. Who knows what will happen next? What about Porphyrius and Blake? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	88. Chapter 83: Choosing Sides

**Here we are at Chapter 83. Let's get back to Blake and Porphyrius, with a few moments for our other heroes in Mistral. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 83. Enjoy. Happy Father's Day.**

* * *

 **Chapter 83: Choosing Sides**

In Menagerie, Blake watches on while Sun and Porphyrius are going at it in a little sparring session. Sun brings out his nun-chucks and starts swinging them around at Porphyrius while firing off a few shots. Porphyrius meets these attacks with his blades and rifles. The pair parry and deflect each strike while blocking the dance of bullets between them. Soon enough, Porphyrius ducks low for a sweep kick, which Sun flips over, firing off a shot at Porphyrius, but it gets blocked by the backpack section of his weapon. Sun lands on the ground and fuses his nun-chucks into their staff form.

"Man, that back pack of yours is annoying in a way," Sun says.

Porphyrius stands up and faces him, "Helps cover my rear. Can't be too careful these days," Porphyrius says before firing off his rifles at his opponent.

Sun spins his staff around to block the shots and then runs at Porphyrius. Twirling it around, he swings down, only for Porphyrius to deflect the strike around him. He makes another strike, but Porphyrius leans back to evade it, and then blocks an upward swing a second later. Sun thrusts his staff at Porphyrius' head a few times, but Porphyrius weeves his head around each strike. Sun twirls his staff around before swinging it low, but Porphyrius backflips over the strike. He then activates his semblance and fires off a few gravity shots at him. However, Sun activates his own semblance and creates two clones to take the shots for him. The clones fall to the ground before disappearing along with the gravity shots while the real Sun charges at his opponent. Porphyrius meets his strike with his blades and the weapons clash with sparks flying.

"Heh, not bad using your semblance to block mine. I'm ALMOST impressed, banana breath," Porphyrius notes.

"Hey, someone's gotta look good in front of the audience," Sun replies, glancing at Blake... who is now reading a book. "Aw, come on!" Sun says.

With his focus off, Porphyrius uses this chance to kick Sun back, then switching his weapon into its brawler form. He throws two punches that Sun blocks with his staff. However, with each strike, he's getting pushed back. Porphyrius follows it up with a roundhouse kick that knocks him back further. Sun regains his focus and goes back on the offensive. He makes a swing at Porphyrius, who ducks low and throws a left uppercut. Sun steps back to dodge it and spins his staff around at Porphyrius' head. Porphyrius block with his left brawler gauntlet and then throws a right cross at Sun, nailing him in the chest. Sun switches back to his weapon's nun-chuck form and swings them around at Porphyrius. Porphyrius raises his gauntlets to block the flurry of attacks. Sun then makes a spinning jump kick at him, which he blocks though it makes him slide back a bit. Sun goes in for the kill, but Porphyrius' eyepatch lights up and he then smashes his right gauntlet into the ground, sending out a gravity wave at Sun. The blast not only stops Sun, but it also sends him flying back to the ground. This gets Blake's attention away from her book as he notices Porphyrius' new technique. Sun gets back up on one knee, but just as he looks up, he gets punched in the face by Porphyrius sending him crashing into a tree. Sun groans in pain before looking up to see the end of one of Porphyrius' rifle barrels in front of his face.

Sun sighs and raises his hands, "Alright, you win," he concedes the match. Porphyrius deactivates his weapon and semblance and offers a hand to Sun, which the monkey Faunus takes. "You didn't think to hold back a bit with that last punch. Ow, I feel like I'm going to have a huge headache for a whole week," he groans, rubbing his head.

"Not my fault you lost focus, Sun. Maybe if you weren't so busy trying to show off, you would've lasted longer," Porphyrius notes.

"You mean I would've won," Sun retorts, smiling.

"Keep dreaming, banana breath," Porphyrius replies before walking back to the house.

Blake close her book and stands up as he approaches, "Had enough for today?" she asks.

"Yeah... Sun actually managed to get one up on my semblance, at least part of it. The only other person who was able to do that was Reaper with his skull phantoms way-back-when. He's getting better... sort of," Porphyrius notes before heading inside.

Blake turns back to see Sun approaching, waving to her, and making her roll her eyes, though she smiles anyway.

…

Meanwhile, in Mistral, Weiss walks outside into the courtyard for a little bit of training. However, when she arrives, she sees Reaper already out there, sitting in a meditative stance while several of his skull phantoms hover about around him. She sees how some of them are different in size, with some of them being smaller than others. All the skull phantoms turn their attention to her, making her stop in her tracks, a bit uneasy.

"Good morning Weiss. Sleep well?" Reaper greets her as he clasps his hands, making the skull phantoms dissipate.

Weiss recomposes herself, "Yes, quite well. I see you're out here early," she says as she goes to sit next to him.

"The early bird catches the worm', as the saying goes. You out here to train as well?" Reaper asks.

"Yes, can never be too prepared now. The fall semester at Haven will be starting soon, and I want to be ready for when we head out to find the Spring Maiden," Weiss replies, pulling out her rapier.

"I see..." Reaper trails off before he suddenly takes off his mask again.

Now Weiss gets worried, "Reaper, what are you doing?! Put your mask back on!" she tells him.

However, Reaper only closes his eyes as a subtle breeze blows by, trying to feel the cool wind flowing across his burnt face. At seeing this, Weiss' protest stops.

"I'll be fine... I can last a few minutes at least," Reaper replies.

However, Weiss won't have it and cups his cheeks in her hands, surprising him this time.

"Well, I'd rather you last a few decades at least. I worry about when you take your mask off," Weiss notes.

"Weiss..." Reaper mutters, still bewildered.

Weiss finally realizes the position they're in and let's him go, looking away a bit with a blushing face.

"I mean, I might lose some sleep if something were to happen to you," Weiss plays it off.

Reaper coughs a bit before putting his mask back on, "Well, we wouldn't want that, would we?" he replies as his breathing stabilizes.

The two decide to focus on their training and practice their semblances together for a while. Meanwhile, inside the home, Voshkie'ahk is in Yukari's room, with the older girl brushing Voshkie'ahk's face while she reads a book, and a big smile of Yukari's face.

"Ah, the pleasures of life," Yukari mutters as she brushes Voshkie'ahk's hair, slowly and meticulously.

Voshkie'ahk smiles as she glances back at her, "Enjoying yourself?" she asks.

"Of course, it's not every day that I get to brush your hair, my darling," Yukari replies.

"Just don't try smelling it this time, please," Voshkie'ahk asks.

 **"Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with her,"** Tiamat notes.

 _"There's nothing wrong with her. She's just a bit... unique,"_ Voshkie'ahk replies.

Soon enough, Yukari finishes brushing Voshkie'ahk's hair, "There. All back to being beautiful, even though your hair was already beautiful before. Now it's even more so," Yukari says.

"Thank you, Yukari," Voshkie'ahk replies.

"Now then, time for my reward," Yukari cheers.

"I'm not letting you dress me up, again," Voshkie'ahk deadpans.

Yukari puffs her cheeks, "Oh, boo. Fine, fine, I won't dress you up... this time anyway," she says, muttering the last part to herself. She then gets up, "Alright, but would I like something," she says.

"And that would be?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

Yukari raises her hand to her girlfriend, "How about a dance?" she suggests.

"A dance?" Voahkie'ahk asks.

"Yes, a dance. Please, darling," Yukari asks.

"Okay, I guess that wouldn't hurt. But what about-," Voshkie'ahk begins, until Yukari pulls out her scroll, a custom purple one, and plays a slow tune on it. "You planned for this, didn't you?" Voshkie'ahk says.

"You know me so well," Yukari says, smirking, as she puts the scroll down, and offers her hand to Voshkie'ahk again.

Voshkie'ahk sighs, but smiles anyway, "Alright, a dance it is," she says and gets up to take Yukari's hand.

Yukari holds Voshkie'ahk close, with the younger girl resting her head on her shoulder, right arm on Yukari's left, while their others hands are held together at their waist. The pair just make slow steps, following the rhythm of the song. They need not do anything fancy, except to appreciate one another's company. They slowly spin with each step, and Voshkie'ahk can hear Yukari's low breathing, and feel her heart beating in her chest. A sigh of content escapes Voshkie'ahk's lips as she enjoys the moment. The pair remain like this for a few more minutes until the song ends, and then they stop moving as Yukari gives a quick peck on Voshkie'ahk's forehead. Yukari leads Voshkie'ahk onto a love seat she had placed in her room. Yukari sits down with Voshkie'ahk sitting sideways in her lap, her head resting on her shoulder once more. Voshkie'ahk starts to feel a little sleepy and closes her eyes as Yukari gently wraps her arms around her and reclines the seat back to get into a more comfortable position. She strokes Voshkie'ahk's hair as her girlfriend rests.

 _"I love you, I trust you. Kimi no kodoku wo wakete hoshii. I love you, I trust you. Hikari demo yami demo. Futari da kara shinjiaeru no... hanasanaide,"_ Yukari sings a soft melody to Voshkie'ahk as she falls asleep.

Yukari smiles lovingly as her girlfriend sleeps, stealing another peck on her forehead before deciding to take a little nap herself; holding Voshkie'ahk a little closer as they sleep peacefully together.

…

Back in Menagerie, Porphyrius is in Ghira's study, speaking with the town chieftain.

"So, you haven't really seen any signs of the White Fang over the past few days?" Ghira asks.

"No. After your big press conference, it's like they just vanished. We know those two Albain brothers are still somewhere, but as for the others, no dice. If there's one thing I know, it's that something like this is never a good sign. The calm before the storm," Porphyrius says, standing in front of Ghira's desk.

Ghira hums, "Hmm, that doesn't exactly bode well for us," he says before standing up and walking around his desk. "It pains me to see the organization I created become something so dark, so... corrupted. I wanted to create peace and equality between humans and Faunus, but now, we are fighting amongst our own kind. However, we have to fight, because if we don't, then who will stop Adam Taurus from making things worse for the Faunus?" he says.

"...When I was younger, my parents were actually supporters of the White Fang, back when it was a peaceful protest group. Of course, they didn't live long enough to see it decay into what it is now," Porphyrius notes.

Ghira turns back to him, "That's another thing that amazes me. After what you went through, you still chose the path you're on now, rather than join the White Fang. You never tried to go after the ones responsible for your parents' demises?" he asks.

"Most of them are dead now, though not by my hand. Besides, killing them won't bring back my parents. It would only continue the cycle. I won't give in to my hatred like I almost did in the past. I can't allow that mistake to happen again. The past is the past. My goal is to focus on the future, just like I know my leader, Khazhak, is doing right now," Porphyrius replies.

"I see. I am rather curious about your leader. He sounds like a respectable person, even more so since he's a human," Ghira notes.

"Khazhak's been through a lot as well. He lives by what his late father taught him. When it comes to people, human or Faunus, he cares about what they do, not what they are. He probably would've supported the White Fang too if you were still in charge. Truth be told, he's actually taken out several of their groups in the past. Sorry to say, but Khazhak is not known for leaving survivors," Porphyrius explains.

"I see... I am sorry to hear that. I'd probably be angry about hearing about my kind being killed, but it's too late now to change that. And I can at least understand that he didn't do so without good reason at least," Ghira replies.

"Khazhak protects the weak. Sometimes that means getting your hands dirty, even if they're stained with blood. He doesn't consider himself to be a hero, but rather a necessary force to ensure the weak don't die. The difference between Adam Taurus and Khazhak is that Khazhak only kills when he has to and only those that deserve it. Adam Taurus kills innocent people just because he can. You tell me, who's the real monster between them?" Porphyrius asks.

"I've never been a fan of killing. However, I know that these things can happen, especially in these troubled times. But, that won't stop me from doing what I believe is right in trying to make things better between humans and Faunus," Ghira says.

Porphyrius actually smirks a little at this, "Good. Because we'll need people like that in the future. A future where people like Khazhak and myself are no longer needed," Porphyrius notes before deciding to leave the study. He heads outside and finds Blake out there as well. "See anything of interest?" he asks, noticing the sky has grown dark.

"Nothing really?" Bkake says.

"Hey Blake! You ready to go?" they both hear Sun call out from inside.

"Be right there!" Blake calls out.

She feels a note taped to the wooden railing of the balcony. She grabs it and reads the message written down while trying to keep it out of Porphyrius' view. Porphyrius raises an eyebrow until Sun comes out while Blake quickly places the note in her coat when he's distracted.

"We going recruiting or what? We've got the entire nocturnal section to hit up!" Sun says.

"No way they're staying asleep with all your yelling," Porphyrius notes.

"Hey, I can be quiet and stealthy," Sun retorts, but Blake and Porphyrius just give him bland looks. "Okay, maybe you have a point," he says.

Blake doesn't say anything else though, still having a concerned expression on her face, which the boys notice.

"You okay?" Sun asks.

"Yeah, I'll meet you there. I need to take care of something first," Blake replies.

Blake walks away, but Porphyrius narrows his eye at her as she leaves.

…

A little later that night, Blake approaches a darkened alleyway in town.

"Ilia?" Blake calls out.

A moment later, Ilia walks out of the darkness, "I'm here," Ilia replies.

Blake draws Gambol Shroud. Ilia walks forth with her hands up and drops her black camouflage.

"Ilia, I know you're scared, but you don't have to be. My family and I, we can keep you safe," Blake says, trying to help her.

"I'm sorry," Ilia apologizes.

"You can make it up to me by helping us stop Corsac and Fennec," Blake says.

"No... I'm sorry," Ilia says, her tone changing, and not for the better.

Ilia's right hand curls up into a fist. Footsteps can be heard running on the rooftop next to them. Blake looks up and sees Yuma fly down and land on her back, forcing her to the ground. Blake drops Gambol Shroud which lands at Ilia's feet. Blake gasps, regaining her breath and struggles to get up as Yuma presses his foot against her back. He gets off her as two more Faunus join him. Blake gets back up on her feet.

"Wait-," Blake begins, but then she gets wrapped in spiderweb silk by one of the other Faunus, a female with gray hair and the silk coming from her hands as she holds it.

"I've got her," the female Faunus says.

"Well done, Sister Trifa - and to you, Ilia," Yuma says, and then tosses Ilia back her weapon.

"Ilia! What are you doing?!" Blake yells.

"I tried to warn you, Blake. I'm sorry," Ilia replies.

"Don't tell me you're sorry!" Blake retorts, angry now.

"But I am. I am sorry it has to be this way, but you and your family are holding the Faunus back! Saying that we should help the humans. Having that half-breed abomination as one of your allies. That won't help our people in any way," Ilia argues back.

"Why?! Because we're trying to protect people?! Just because Porphyrius is DIFFERENT from the rest of us?! In what world do you live in where attacking the innocent is the right thing to do?!" Blake shouts.

"The same one as you! There's no such thing as innocent! There's no right thing to do! Only what's best for us! There's the humans that still hate the Faunus, and there's the others who stand by and let the hate happen! And then there are monsters like that abomination that shouldn't even exist. That's just another excuse for the humans to hate us. But you know what snuffs out hate? Fear. I don't like hurting people. But I'll tell you this... it's gotten us results," Ilia argues back, pointing her weapon at Blake.

"Yeah, look where it's gotten you," Blake says, a hint of pity in her voice.

Ilia's eyes widen for a second and she briefly ponders Blake's retort, but then she just shrugs it off.

"We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good, no matter how much it hurts," Ilia says, remaining on her chosen course.

"And you think killing me is really for the greater good?" Blake asks.

"No, but getting rid of Porphyrius and your family is," Ilia retorts.

Blake's suddenly becomes both shocked and afraid at this revelation, "You wouldn't! You can't! I won't let you!" Blake yells as she struggles against her restraints.

"I know. That's why you're being sent to Mistral. To Adam," Ilai says.

At hearing this, Blake's becomes even more afraid, almost on the verge of tears.

"Ilia, please! You don't have to do this. This isn't you!" Blake says.

"Yes. It. Is! But I guess back then you were just too busy falling for Adam to notice," Ilia says, confusing Blake. "I was always jealous of the way you looked at him. I wanted you to look at me that way..." she says, her spots and her eyes turning pink for a moment before returning to normal. "But we can't always get what we want! Yuma, with me. You two, get her to the docks," Ilia says.

Ilia and Yuma leave while the other two Faunus prepare to bring Blake with them.

"Let's go, traitor," Trifa says as she tugs on the silk holding Blake, but Blake doesn't move and only lifts her head up.

"NOW!" Blake shouts.

"Huh?" Trifa mutters, confused. Suddenly, Sun jumps out of nowhere and knocks down the Faunus next to Trifa. "What?" she gasps.

Trifa draws her knife and engages in a brief duel with Sun. However, Porphyrius suddenly lands in between them, his weapon activated. Trifa makes a strike with her knife, but he blocks it with his left gauntlet before knocking the knife out of her hand with his right. Switching his weapon to its brawler form, Porphyrius throws a hard right punch to Trifa's stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her crashing into a few nearby crates, knocking her out.

"Pathetic," Porphyrius notes.

"Thanks for the backup," Blake says, getting free from the webbing.

"Thanks for the invitation. You okay?" Sun asks.

Blake picks up Gambol Shroud and places it on her back. "No. You heard Ilia, my family is in danger. Call the police and let's go!" Blake says and starts running off back to her home.

The three exit the alleyway and begin running toward her home. While Porphyrius and Sun take out their scrolls to call the local authorities, Blake tries to call her mother.

"Come on, Mom! Pick up!" Blake mutters, hoping she's not too late as they race back home.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Some bonding time going on between some of those residing in Mistral. Meanwhile, Blake, Porphyrius, and Sun now prepare to fight as the White Fang make their move on her family. Will Blake be able to save her parents? Until then, please Read and Review. Again, happy Father's Day.**

 **Song: Trust You by Yuna Ito (I like that song.)**


	89. Chapter 84: Severed Ties

**Here we are at Chapter 84. Let's get more into the battle for Menagerie, while also checking out the others in Mistral. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 84. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 84: Severed Ties**

In Mistral, Voshkie'ahk awakens after a little nap to find herself in Yukari's arms, making her blush a bit as she realizes they're still in the love seat.

"Sleep well, darling?" Yukari asks, already awake herself.

Voshkie'ahk yawns a bit, "Yeah, I'm awake now. Sorry for falling asleep on you," she says.

"Oh, it's no problem dear. I got to sleep with my beloved darling. I'll take that gift any day," Yukari replies, playing with a few strands of Voshkie'ahk's hair. "You'll probably be going off on another mission soon, I take it," she asks.

"Most likely," Voshkie'ahk replies.

Yukari sighs, "I'm gonna miss this. I won't stop you from doing your duties, but it is still sad to see you go," she says.

Voshkie'ahk then gets an idea, "Well, then we'd better make good use of our time," she says before moving to be straddling Yukari on her lap.

Yukari quickly figures it out, "Rare for you to be the bold one," she notes.

"I learned from the best. But nothing too... mature right now. I'm not ready for that kind of thing yet," Voshkie'ahk says, herself blushing now.

"Don't worry. I'll be happy with just being with you, my darling. However, I think that's enough talking," Yukari says.

She cups Voshkie'ahk's cheeks and pulls her in for a deep kiss. Their hands roam over one another's bodies as they continue to kiss, with Yukari adhering to Voshkie'ahk's wish of not taking things too far. Hell, to be in such a situation with Voshkie'ahk like she is right now is already enough to make her day. They pull each other closer as they deepen the kiss, wanting to make the best use of their time while they still have it as two people who love each other.

...

Meanwhile, Oscar Pine, with Ozpin in control of his body, and Qrow Branwen are seen sitting together in the living room, with Qrow taking a sip from his cup.

"Things aren't looking good, Oz," Qrow notes.

"Ever the optimist. While I would not say our current predicament is... ideal, I think we can both agree that the situation could be much worse. Humanity is a resilient force," Ozpin replies.

"Oz, those huntsmen that I was looking for. They're all... gone. But, there's no way they could all just go out all at once. Salem's powerful. It seems like her reach is growing by the day. And we just keep fighting with each other day after day. What does that say about humanity?" Qrow asks.

"That there are indeed a misguided few who have filled their hearts with malice. It doesn't take a great number of people to cause harm, but I still believe there are far more people in this world willing to prevent it. And there are also those, while they have seen much hardship, they still choose to do good," Ozpin says.

"You mean like Khazhak?" Qrow asks.

"Yes. Exactly like Mr. Rairyu," Ozpin replies.

As Ozpin is about to take another sip, Ruby and Khazhak walk into the room. Of course, as soon as Khazhak sees Ozpin, and sees that Oscar is not in control, he quickly scowls at him.

"Um, excuse me?" Ruby says.

"Ah, Miss Rose, Mr. Rairyu, join us. We were just about to gather everyone to discuss our next steps for the mission," Ozpin says.

"Is that so?" Khazhak questions them, crossing his arms.

"Is there something you want to ask us?" Qrow asks.

"Uh... uh, it's... if it's okay to ask," Ruby says.

Qrow nods, "Of course it is, kiddo," he says.

Ruby looks away a bit before looking back at them, "Well, uh... we've been talking about the Relic at Haven... and the Spring Maiden, but... what about the Fall Maiden?" Ruby asks.

"Cinder?" Ozpin replies.

"No, Lloyd. Yes, Cinder Fall, the false Maiden. With Cinder, and by extension Salem, having control of the Fall Maiden's power, do they now possess the Relic at Beacon? The school is still infested with Grimm after all," Khazhak asks.

Ozpin and Qrow share a brief look with each other before Ozpin speaks, "Very astute, you two. I was wondering who would be the first to ask. No, thankfully she does not. It's true that the Relic at Haven is very much at risk, and for now, that should remain our primary focus. Let's just say I made finding the Relic at Beacon a... bit more challenging than at the other schools," Ozpin explains.

 **"Most likely because he was the headmaster at that academy,"** Bahamut notes.

Ruby sighs in relief, "That's good to hear," she says.

"It is, but let's not forget the challenges that still lie before us," Ozpin adds, to which Ruby nods while Khazhak just grunts in acknowledgement. "Now are there anything else we can help you two with?" he asks.

"Oh, uh... well, I did have one more question," Ruby begins.

"No, my cane is not a Relic," Ozpin quickly figures it out, smirking.

"I have no more questions," Ruby replies, smiling, while Khazhak chuckles a little bit.

"I told you it wasn't," Khazhak notes.

"Shut up!" Ruby tells him.

"Yes, while this cane is indeed very precious to me, it is also just that - precious to me. While I admit it still has a few more tricks up its sleeve, I can firmly say that being a Relic isn't one of them. Now why don't you two run along and get the others?" Ozpin asks.

Suddenly, Qrow's scroll is heard vibrating. He takes it out from his pocket and answers the call.

"Yeah? ... Okay... yeah, we'll be there," Qrow says to the other end before hanging up.

"Who was it?" Ruby asks.

Qrow sighs while taking out his flask, "It was Leo, says he had a breakthrough with the council. Thinks he might be able to get together a small raiding party for the bandits. He wants us to meet up at the school tomorrow night to walk us through it," he explains before taking a swig of his flask.

Ruby gasps in excitement, "Really? Oh that's great! I'll go get the others," she says and runs out of the room.

"Mmm, that sounds drastically different from your original conversation, does it not?" Ozpin questions, not as enthusiastic as Ruby.

"It does," Qrow says.

"Yeah. First, he practically shuts us down, we hear nothing from him, and now all of a sudden, he suddenly has a breakthrough. Something doesn't smell right about this," Khazhak notes.

"Indeed. Listen Khazhak, whatever happens, please... protect Miss Rose," he asks.

Khazhak grunts, "I swore my life to her. Of course, I'm going to protect her. From anything and anyone that would threaten her," he says and turns to leave, but stops and glances back at Ozpin. "Even from you, Ozpin," he warns him and then leaves.

Qrow watches him leave before turning to Ozpin, "It seems he's still pretty angry with you, Oz," he notes.

"I know... He has every right to be," Ozpin sadly notes.

…

Outside the home, Khazhak is standing in the courtyard in front of the railing with his arms crossed, looking out into the evening sky.

 **"Something on your mind?"** Bahamut asks.

"Yeah. So much being kept from us. Multiple parties in this war, each with their own agendas. Professor Lionheart and him suddenly saying that he's ready to help. I just... I don't know. My instincts are telling me something's wrong. I need to keep mastering more of the Dragon Spirit if we're stand a better of winning," Khazhak says.

 **"Yes. But remember, the more you master it, the greater the cost for using it will be,"** Bahamut replies.

"As long as I can help Ruby, I don't care about the cost," Khazhak replies. Just then, a red portal appears near his right side and he looks to see Raven exit from within. "Raven," Khazhak mutters distastefully.

Raven closes her portal and takes off her mask, "Khazhak, it's been a while... My apprentice," she greets him with a smirk.

"Why are you here?" Khazhak asks, a lack of patience in his voice.

"What? A master can't come to see how her apprentice is doing?" Raven jokes.

"I serve Ruby Rose now, Raven. My one, TRUE master. Now why don't you answer my question?" Khazhak retorts.

"Listen Khazhak, I'm sure your little friends told you about what happened at my camp, just as I'm sure that Ozpin and Qrow told you many things. But, you need to listen to me... You can't stop Salem. Ozpin can't stop Salem. She will not rest until humanity crumbles. However, you don't have to be a part of that," Raven says.

"What are you going on about?" Khazhak asks.

"Come with me, Khazhak. Come and finally take your rightful place at my side as a member of my tribe. I can protect you, and you can protect our tribe. You don't have to fight and die in Ozpin's pointless war against Salem," Raven asks him.

"You think I'm doing this for Ozpin? News flash: I trust Ozpin about as far as I can blast him. I'm not doing this for Ozpin. I'm doing this for Ruby, because she wants to stop Salem, and I want to help her achieve that mission," Khazhak retorts.

"Ruby Rose is just as misguided as her mother, Summer. They can't stop Salem. If you want, convince Ruby to join us. At least then, she'll be safe with my tribe," Raven suggests.

"Ruby would NEVER join a tribe of cold-blooded murderers. And you would do well not to insult my master again," Khazhak warns her.

Raven narrows her eyes at him for a moment before her expression softens, "Khazhak, you are strong and smart, but you still have so much to learn. Come with me, and I can complete your training. You can finally be the warrior you were always meant to be. Your teammates can join you as well, so they won't have to die in this pointless war. Please, do the right thing here," Raven offers.

Khazhak clenches his fists, "The right thing?... You knew... You knew about the Maidens. About the Relics. About Salem. About all of it! You knew... and yet you. Did. NOTHING! How many innocent people died because you did nothing and ran away from your responsibilities!" Khazhak seethes.

"The weak die and the strong live. Those are the rules. I've survived this long because I am strong, and I am smart. I know how powerful Salem is. We can't win against her. We have to look out for ourselves and survive. You're a survivor just like me, Khazhak. Don't die a pointless death like all the others who followed Ozpin to their deaths," Raven replies.

"You think you know so much about me, but you don't know a damn thing. I won't run away from the fight, like you. I will stand and fight. You think we can't beat Salem, but that's only because you would face her alone. We can beat Salem, but only by working together. But I know you'll never go for that, so you can take your offer and shove it," Khazhak shoots her down.

"Khazhak, you know that this is a mistake," Raven tries one more time.

"...Maybe you're right. Maybe it is a mistake to fight Salem. And maybe we will die..." he begins, causing Raven to smile. "...But... Be that as it may, I'd rather fight and die on my feet as a warrior... than live and hide on my knees as a coward. We are DONE, Raven," Khazhak makes his choice clear.

Raven grunts in disapproval as she shakes her head at Khazhak, and then creates a portal behind her.

"That's too bad. I was hoping you would be smarter than this, Khazhak. Fine then, you made your choice. Just remember, the next time we meet, it will be as enemies... My apprentice," Raven says before putting on her mask and walking through her portal before it closes.

"...Then so be it, my master," Khazhak mutters.

 **"You know she'll get in our way,"** Bahamut notes.

"I know," Khazhak replies.

"So what will you do?" Bahamut asks.

 **"If she won't help, and she won't hand over the the Spring Maiden willingly... Then I'll kill her,"** Khazhak mutters darkly.

…

Back in Menagerie, the White Fang launch a surprise attack on the Belladonna household. Throughout the home, fighting and gunfire are heard as the Menagerie guards fight against the White Fang. In one room, Ghira Belladonna and some of his guards fight against a few members of the White Fang. One White Fang member attacks Ghira, but Ghira throws an uppercut into his stomach, knocking him into the air a bit, and then grabs his skull and smashes it into the ground.

"Go find my wife!" Ghira commands.

In another section of the house, Kali and a guard take cover behind a table lifted onto its side while a few other guards fire back at some White Fang members. The guard next to her stands to fire back, only for Kali to see him get shot and killed from a stray bullet. Kali ducks when another bullet flies by and then picks up the dead guard's pistol and turns to fire back.

"Get out of my house!" Kali yells before ducking back down. "Ghira! Where are you?!" she calls out.

Back with Ghira, he stops a White Fang member from attempting to impale him with a spear by grabbing the spear and then throwing him into a wall. Suddenly, one of his guards widens his eyes and jumps in front of him to take a shot meant for Ghira. Ghira catches him, but sees that he's dead and closes his eyes for a moment before laying him down. He then looks up and narrows his eyes when he sees Corsac and Fennec Albain, each with a golden knife capable of firing Dust blasts aimed at him.

"I think it's time that our chieftain steps down. Wouldn't you agree, brother?" Corsac asks.

"Yes, brother. I'm inclined to agree. First, we'll take care of him and his wife, and then we deal with the abomination," Fennec adds.

Ghira growls and brings out his claws, ripping off his coat before roaring at them.

…

"So, you think your mom is gonna actually cooperate with us in handing over the Spring Maiden?" Lloyd asks Yang, the pair in his room.

"I doubt it. She won't give up the main source of her tribe's power without a fight. You think we'll be in for some trouble?" Yang asks.

"Probably. Now, the bandits, we can handle easy. However, the main issue will be Raven and the Maiden. Brother is strong, but even he would have a hard time against her, seeing as how he's never beaten her as far as I know. He told me that Professor Lionheart said that she and your uncle are evenly matched in combat skills. If Brother and Qrow were to team up against her, they might be able to push her back. However, that still leaves the Spring Maiden to deal with. We don't know what she's capable of, which means she'll be trouble," Lloyd explains.

Yang sighs, "I wish it wouldn't be as hard as it sounds," she notes as she lies back on on her bed.

"Yeah, well, easy pretty much got thrown out the window a long time ago. However, that raises another question: think you can actually fight your own mother?" Lloyd asks.

Yang sits back up and looks at him, "I'm here to help Ruby. I don't care who it is. If anyone tries to hurt here, they have to go through me first. That includes my mom," Yang tells him, looking him in the eye.

Lloyd just stares at her and then shrugs his shoulders, "Okay then. Guess we'll just have to wait and see, and hope for the best, but prepare for the worst," he says before lying down on one bed while Yang lies down on hers again, both lost in their own thoughts now.

…

Back at the Belladonna household, Ghira grabs one female White Fang member, punches her in the stomach, and then throws her into a nearby pillar. He then stops another member from stabbing him with a spear by grabbing the spear and sending the guy flying into Fennec Albain by swinging it. With the spear still in hand. Ghira aims the spear at him while Fennec aims his Dust dagger at him. Corsac sends out a fireball while Ghira throws the spear. The two attacks manage to hit their targets, with Ghira's Aura shimmering from the fireball and Corsac getting pinned to the wall by his hood just as he gets back up.

"Brother!" Fennec shouts fearfully.

Fennec gets back up and fires off his weapon, which glows white from using the wind Dust in it. Ghira brings his arms up in a cross guard to block the attack, and his feet drag backwards a couple of feet as a result. A White Fang soldier with an assault rifle is hiding behind a pillar and aims his weapon at Ghira. Suddenly, Porphyrius bursts in from the window behind him and knocks him down before dealing a punch to the back of the skull for good measure. Corsac discards his hood to free himself and joins his brother as they prepare to launch a combination attack with their weapons. A stream of wind and fire whirls toward Porphyrius, but he jumps into the air to avoid it before landing back on the ground next to Ghira.

"Jump in, anytime!" Porphyrius calls out.

Blake joins the scene, loading up Gambol Shroud and drawing the attention of Corsac and Fennec. Blake Belladonna jumps down from the terrace above them, dodging a fireball and a wind attack in the process. She does a three-point landing in front of them. The brothers attempt to stab Blake, but she uses her ice Dust-enhanced Semblance to trap their hands and weapons. She leaps away from them to join her father and Porphyrius. The brothers try to get back up, only for Sun to land on top of one and proceed to smack the other away with his staff before he jumps away to join the others.

"You guys made a big mistake attacking the place," Porphyrius says.

"Dad! Where's mom?" Blake asks her father.

"I'm not sure, I got ambushed right away, so I don't know where she is," Ghira replies.

"Once we take down Corsac and Fennec-," Blake begins.

"No, you and Porphyrius go now," Ghira tells her.

Blake turns to him, "But-," she begins.

"You keep assuring me your friend here isn't a complete waste of space! Let's see him prove it," Ghira says, pointing a thumb at Sun.

"We can handle this, Blake. I've wanted to sock these creeps since the day we met!" Sun says, twirling his staff around.

They see Corsac uses the fire Dust in his weapon to begin melting Blake's ice clone.

"You'll have to get in line. Blake, Porphyrius, go!" Ghira tells them.

"Come on, Blake. Let's go. They'll be alright, but we need to find your mother," Porphyrius adds.

Blake eventually nods and the two leave the room to find Kali. Corsac and Fennec free themselves, and prepare to fight.

"I won't let you down, sir!" Sun says.

"Shut up," Ghira replies.

"You got it!" Sun adds before the pair run towards their opponents.

Meanwhile, Blake and Porphyrius split up at one point and head off in opposite directions, looking for Kali... before it's too late.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Porphyrius and Blake race to find Kali, while the others fight off the White Fang. Meanwhile, the wheels begin to turn for our heroes in Mistral, but it seems that now Khazhak has officially severed his ties with Raven. Will Blake or Porphyrius find Kali in time? Will Khazhak end up having to fight his now former master? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	90. Chapter 85: A True Cause

**Here we are at Chapter 85. The pinnacle point of the battle for Menagerie has come. I've been focusing on this story for a while because I wanted to get through this part of volume 5. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 85. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 85: A True Cause**

In the Belladonna household, Porphyrius runs through the halls, looking for Kali.

"Ghira, Blake, and Sun should be alright, but Kali isn't a fighter. Gotta find her fast, and then link back up with Blake," Porphyrius mutters.

He ends up coming across another fight between the Menagerie guards and some White Fang soldiers. Most of the guards are dead, with just two still fighting, though one is injured and taking cover. Porphyrius narrows his eye and charges forth, firing off his rifles. The shots take out two of the White Fang members, getting their attention away from the guards. They turn their attention towards Porphyrius, with two of them firing off their rifles. Porphyrius evades the bullets by jumping onto and running along the side of the wall towards them. When he gets close, he jumps and swings his blades at one member, taking out his rifle and then dealing a few blows to his opponent. One comes from the side with a sword, but Porphyrius deflects it and then stabs his blade through their chest. The other White Fang member attacks with her rifle, but Porphyrius uses the dead body as a shield to block the bullets and then throws it at her. She ducks to the right to avoid it, but Porphyrius uses the opening to slice her rifle in half and then spin kicks her into a wall, knocking her. Out. The last two come at him with spears, but he just fires off a few gravity shots to force them to the ground and then finishes them off with a few more regular shots as his semblance deactivates. Porphyrius turns to the guards.

"You guys okay?" he asks.

"Yeah, nothing too serious," one replies.

"Do you know where Mrs. Belladonna is?" Porphyrius asks.

"Unfortunately, no, we got ambushed before we could find her or the chieftain," the other replies, holding their right arm.

"Crap. Look, regroup with the other guards and get yourselves fixed up. You're no good to anyone if you're dead," Porphyrius says before running off before they could say anything else.

Porphyrius continues running through the building, deciding to head to the dining room to see if Kali is there. As he gets close, he hears gunfire going off, obvious signs of another battle. Moving on the double, he finds a squad White Fang Members blocking his path. They all aim their weapons at him and fire. Purple flames erupt from his eyepatch.

"Out of my way! Dark Void Xenodriver!" Porphyrius yells as he starts spinning like a drill with his semblance active towards them.

The technique takes out any incoming rounds and then he blasts right through all of them, sending them flying in various directions, and into varying parts of the hallway. Looking back at them for a second to make sure they're all down, he then gets back on track and heads to the dining room.

…

In the dining room, a Kali and one guard exchange fire with some members of the White Fang. Kali fires off her pistol before it runs out of ammo and she throws it to the ground. She then picks up a tea tray to block one shot coming at her. She looks to another wounded female guard leaning against a pillar, who just stares back at her with the tea tray.

"Do you have a better idea?" Kali asks rhetorically.

Suddenly, Yuma flies in, braking through a window in the ceiling and knocks down the other guard to the ground. He wraps his hands around the guard's throat to choke him to death.

"Quiet now," Yuma mutters.

Kali then lifts the tea tray above her head, and runs towards Yuma with a loud battle cry.

"Ma'am, no!" the female guard yells.

Yuma lets go of the guard's neck as he looks back in surprise as Kali approaches him. However, he reacts quickly enough and jumps over her as she swings the tea tray and then kicks her to the ground. Kali struggles to get up as he looms over her.

"That was a bad move. Luckily, it will be your last," Yuma says with a dark smirk.

However, Porphyrius suddenly appears and kicks Yuma away, "I wouldn't be too sure of that," he says, moving to stand protectively in front of Kali. "You okay?" he asks her without looking back.

"Y-yes, I'm fine. What about Blake and Ghira?" Kali asks.

"Don't worry, they're fine. But for now..." Porphyrius trails off as he fires off his rifles at a few White Fang members, taking them out and leaving only Yuma left.

Yuma turns to face him, "The abomination... I was hoping I'd get the chance to kill you myself," he says.

"Get in line," Porphyrius replies, looking unimpressed.

Yuma takes flight and flies around the room. Porphyrius fires his rifles, but Yuma evades the bullets before flying down at him. Porphyrius rolls out of the way and turns to face him again.

"It's a shame you can't fly, monster," Yuma notes.

Porphyrius narrows his eye, "I may no longer have my wings, but..." he mutters. Yuma swoops down at him again, but Porphyrius rolls backwards, kicking Yuma over him and into a nearby pillar. He then activates his semblance and fires off a few gravity shots to pin Yuma to the ground. "Unlike myself, your anger weighs you down. Because of that, I can soar higher than you ever will," he says as he walks to Yuma and places a foot on his back. "You have taught me something though. Sometimes, hatred must be cast aside to do what must be done," he begins as he reaches down and grabs Yuma's wings. "It is not for hatred that I do this now," he says.

Yuma starts to freak out, "W-wait, you can't!" he pleads.

Porphyrius doesn't listen to him as he uses his semblance to help him rip off Yuma's wings from his body, making Yuma scream in agony and the onlookers watch in horror.

"Now you know what it feels like to have your wings clipped. Trust me, I know this better than anyone," Porphyrius says as he pulls Yuma onto his knees and wraps an arm around his head.

"It... It was Adam Taurus' idea to attack the Belladonnas. Please-," Yuma begs.

"I know... He's next...," Porphyrius says, and then snaps Yuma's neck, killing him as he lets the dead body drop to the floor.

Kali and the remaining guards are startled by the display. Even if he was a member of the White Fang who tried to kill them, it was still a brutal way to go out.

Kali walks up to Porphyrius, "Was that really necessary?" she asks.

"He was already consumed by his hatred. There was no saving him. Sometimes, you have no choice but to kill your enemies. Besides, it's not the first time I've killed a member of the White Fang, and it won't be the last," Porphyrius replies, staring at Yuma's body.

"Who else do you plan to kill?" Kali hesitantly asks.

"Just one more that I plan on killing... Adam Taurus. But never mind that now, we need to find Blake and Ghira," Porphyrius says.

"You go and find them. We'll catch up. The White Fang's ranks are spread thin and weakening. We should be alright," Kali says.

Porphyrius nods, "Be careful," he says and takes off to find Blake and Ghira.

Porphyrius runs through the building, and then starts to smell smoke up ahead, "That's not good," he mutters and runs faster.

He comes to a set of double doors and busts right through them. He finds himself in a large room with two floors. Fires burn on the upper floor around the balcony. On the bottom floor, Porphyrius sees Blake fighting against Ilia, with the cat Faunus having the Chameleon Faunus pinned underneath her on the ground. Before Porphyrius can say anything, they all see Corsac crashing through one wall nearby, dropping his weapon, followed by Ghira jumping through the hole. Ghira growls at Corsac, only to cry out in pain when Fennec stabs him in the back with his dagger.

"Dad!" Blake yells out.

With her focus off, Ilia uses this chance to force Blake off of her and then kicks her away into a nearby chair. Ghira grabs Fennec and throws him off his back. Corsac gets back up as he sees his brother go flying and runs at Ghira. Ghira pulls the dagger out and growls at Corsac. The two Faunus exchange fists with each other, each time meeting knuckles with knuckles before they clash their fists together. Both struggle to push the other away while Ilia looks on, unsure of what to do.

Fennec gets back up, "Ilia! What are you doing?! Don't just stand there. Fight!" he yells.

Ilia turns to Blake, only for Porphyrius to jump and land in between them.

"I'll deal with her. You go help your father!" Porphyrius says before charging at Ilia.

"Porphyrius, wait!" Blake yells, but to no avail, and goes with his request.

Ilia takes out her whip and swings it around at Porphyrius, who rolls under the attack and then switches his weapon to its brawler form. He throws a left cross, followed by a right uppercut, and then adds spinning left backhand at Ilia. Ilia weaves out of each strike, and then clashes her whip against Porphyrius' gauntlets. It is then that Ilia sees the look in Porphyrius' eyes. It is not a look of anger. It is a look of pity.

"What's with that look?!" Ilia yells.

"How long are you going to keep lying to yourself? How long are you going to fight someone you care about?" Porphyrius asks her as he pushes her back.

Ilia hesitates to find and answer and Porphyrius kicks her away and goes at her again. Ilia staggers a bit, but swings her whip at him again, but he knocks it aside with his left gauntlet and then throws a right uppercut into her stomach, sending her into the air. Porphyrius jumps up and throws a roundhouse kick that sends her into a pillar behind her while Porphyrius lands in front of her. Meanwhile, Fennec attempts to attack Ghira from behind while his focus is on Corsac, but Blake gets in between them and swings her katana at him. Fennec steps back and fires off a gust of Dust wind from his dagger, but Blake uses her semblance to jump over it and clashes her blade against his.

"Attacking me was one thing, but attacking my family?! You've crossed the line!" Blake says angrily.

"It is what out high leader commands. Your family will only make things worse for out kind. We're doing what is best for our kind!" Fennec argues.

"You mean you're doing what is best for you and for Adam. It's not the same!" Blake yells as she pushes Fennec back.

She uses her semblance to get around him and slashes his side a bit, followed by spin-kicking him away. Ghira head-butts Corsac in the face and then punches him away. Fennec sees this and goes to help, only for Sun to join the fray and block his path. He twirls his staff around and forces him back. Fennec uses his dagger to fire a fireshot at him, but Sun leans back under the attack, which flies by Ghira and hits Corsac.

"Brother!" Fennec yells in horror.

Porphyrius notices this before going back to Ilia. Ilia charges at him with her whip in its sword form, but he changes his weapon back into its normal mode and parries her attack. He then spins around, making several spinning swings with his blades at Ilia. Ilia gets forced back before he makes a cross-slash at her that knocks her back into the pillar. Porphyrius then clashes his blades against hers, forcing her into the pillar as it starts to crack.

"Stop!" they hear and look back to see Blake staring at them, tears falling down her face. "Please..." she begs.

Ilia uses this chance to push Porphyrius away, only for the pillar behind her to give out and fall down towards her. Ilia screams, only for Ghira to appear and hold the pillar up with his strength, shocking her.

"...Go!" Ghira yells as he strains from lifting the heavy weight.

Sun attempts to help him by using his semblance to create two clones to hold the pillar up with him, followed by Porphyrius using his semblance to slowy lift the pillar a bit. However, he's never tried it with something this big and heavy before.

"I can't keep this up forever!" Porphyrius says, gritting his teeth.

Ilia uses this chance to move and get to safety. However, behind them all, Fennec gets back up and sees their backs are turned. Grabbing his brother's dagger, he yells as he charges at them while they charge up with fire Dust. Blake sees this and uses her weapon in its chain-scythe form to throw it and wrap around her father's waste. She pulls him out from under the pillar, while Fennec misses him and lands underneath it. His eyes widen as Sun's clones dissipate and looks back, seeing Porphyrius being the only one holding it up. However, Porphyrius narrows his eye at him and deactivates his semblance, letting the pillar drop on top of Fennec, causing an explosion from the Dust in his daggers, killing him. With that, things begin to calm down. Just then, Kali comes through the doors that Porphyrius came through, looking okay.

"Mom!" Blake yells as she runs to and hugs her mother, who returns the hug.

The others look on at the scene, until a voice interrupts them.

"What have you done?" they hear and look to see Corsac standing back up, looking absolutely livid. "You ruined everything... EVERYTHIIIIING!" He shouts in rage.

Porphyrius, Sun, and Ghira stand between him and Blake and Kali, ready to fight again. Corsac goes to charge at them, only for a whip to suddenly wrap around him and shock him until he passes out and falls onto the floor. They look to see Ilia standing behind him as the culprit, who falls onto her hands and knees as tears fall down her face and she cries.

…

Outside of the Belladonna's home, a huge crowd of Faunus gather to see the commotion and the fire rising from one side of the house. However, the Menagerie guard keep them back.

"Back! Everyone, stay back! We've got people inside doing their best to take care of the situation!" one guard calls out to the crowd.

"Look! Over there!" one Faunus yells, pointing at the front entrance of the home.

From the smoky doorway, Ghira walks out carrying one body of a White Fang soldier and another body of a Menagerie Guard on each of his shoulders. He hands the bodies to two guards as Saber Rodentia arrives.

"Get in there! Search for any stragglers and survivors!" Saber commands them and more guards enter the home while two more come out with a restrained Corsac, followed by Blake, Sun, Kali, Ilia, Porphyrius, and a few others. Saber approaches Ghira, "We came as soon as we got the call," he says and then notices Corsac being forced onto his knees, but sees no sign of Fennec. "And Fennec?" he asks, but Ghira just shakes his head. Saber remains silent for a moment and then walks over to Corsac. "Was it worth it? All this bloodshed; was it worth it?" he asks.

Corsac looks down, feeling defeated. As the commotion continues, Blake shares brief looks with Sun, Porphyrius, and Ilia. Blake takes a deep sigh as she goes down the steps. Ghira notices his daughter walking away.

"Blake!" Ghira calls out to her.

Before Ghira can go any further, his wife stops him.

"Let her go," Kali says as they look on.

Blake then stops at one of the steps as she begins to address the crowd.

"Humans didn't do this," Blake begins, pointing at her home still burning. "We did this: Faunus. We did this to ourselves. We are just as capable of hate and violence as the humans, but I don't think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out. So why are we letting Adam do it for us?! By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place. And if we're not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. This is the message that Adam Taurus will bring to the world if no one stops him. But we can stop him! You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem. And I can't give that to you. I don't know how to make hate go away, I don't. But I know that this kind of violence is not the solution. I understand that to ask you to leave your homes and protect Haven Academy is asking you to put your lives at risk. But that's what's at stake. So I'm going, and I'll stand by myself if I have to," Blake speaks to the crowd.

"You won't have to go it alone," she hears and looks back to see Porphyrius walking down to her. "I'm going with you," he says as he stands with her and then looks to the crowd. "I'm a half-Faunus; it's true. Because of that, my parents were killed and my life was Hell. Many people hated me for what I am, and for a time, I hated a lot of people as well. Both humans and Faunus. But... what has that hate gotten me? Nothing but more misery and nearly hurting the people I care about. My mother was a human, and my father was a Faunus. But before you start jumping to conclusions, just take a step back and think about it. Two people from two different races actually came together and fell in love. And from that love, a new life was born. And now, I work as a huntsman to protect others, both humans and Faunus. You have to understand: hate doesn't help anyone in the end. Hatred breeds hatred; violence breeds violence; and death breeds death. Even if you don't show it, simply letting others show it without doing anything at all about it is just as bad. I remember hearing a story a long time ago about how the White Fang was originally created to make peace between humans and Faunus. My parents are the perfect example of that. Peace and love, and happiness between two different races. If two people can do that, then what's to stop the whole species from doing the same thing. I'm not saying it'll be easy, but nothing worth fighting for ever is. I learned to let go of my hate, and I've made so many new friends, including humans who are like family to me. Adam Taurus doesn't understand this. He doesn't want that. He only wants one thing: bloodshed. Do you want someone like that to speak for you? Well I don't, so I'm going to Haven to stop him. Because that's the way we can show humans that we're not monsters, and that's how we can truly begin to build peace between humans and Faunus. I won't force you to come with us, but I'm going with Blake, and if we have to fight by ourselves, then so be it," Porphyrius says.

"I'll stand with you, both of you!" they hear and look back in surprise to see Ilia standing up, a pained expression appearing on her face as she looks down. "If... if you'll have me," she says.

"Isn't that the White Fang girl?" one male Faunus from the crowd says.

"I thought she hated the Belladonnas," a female Faunus replies.

Despite some of the crowd's murmuring amongst themselves, Blake smiles at her old friend, while Porphyrius nods. As Ilia proceeds forward, Saber suddenly stops her by grabbing her arm.

"You're not going anywhere!" Saber tells her, angry.

"Let her come," Blake says.

Saber appears confused, "What? You're just going to forgive her? After everything she did?!" he exclaims in shock.

"I am," Blake replies.

"This isn't about the past... It's about the future," Porphyrius adds.

Saber looks to Ghira, who nods to let Ilia go, which he does. Ilia continues to walk down the steps to stand next to Blake and Porphyrius.

"What does they think they're doing?" Saber asks Ghira.

"They've learned a lesson that evaded me until I was much older: That there is strength in forgiveness," Ghira replies, smiling as Blake puts a hand on Ilia's shoulder, sharing a smile together.

"I'll go!" they hear and look to see Mata, the ram Faunus, walk in front of the crowd with his hand raised high.

"I'll go too!" a female aquatic Faunus says as she joins him and raises her hand.

Suddenly, more and more Faunus are calling out to joining the Belladonna's cause as cheers erupt from the crowd. As more Faunus start to give Blake their support, Sun walks down the steps to join her, Porphyrius, and Ilia. The crowd is heard cheering as a majority agree to volunteer, making them all smile.

"Now that's more like it," Porphyrius mutters, hands on his hips.

"Looks like we've got work to do," Sun notes.

"Thank you... Both of you," Blake says to the two boys.

Sun then looks to Ilia, "You stabbed me," he says, pointing at her.

Ilia looks down, feeling ashamed, "I-," she begins, until Sun pinches her arm. "Ow!" she yelps.

"There. Let's just call it even," Sun says, smiling.

Ilia smiles a bit and then turns to Porphyrius, "I'm... sorry about what I said. About calling you an abomination. I was wrong. If anything, I was the monster," she apologizes.

"...You're not a monster. You're just a girl who lost her parents and didn't know what to do. I lost my parents too. It's all good," Porphyrius replies, making her smile again.

Ghira and Kali then walk down the steps to join the group.

"We have about two weeks before Adam's attack on Haven. We're going to need shields, training, whatever we can do to protect as many people as possible," Ghira notes.

"We'll need transportation too. For everyone," Kali adds.

Blake smiles as she looks to the others, "I think I know a ship captain who owes us a favor," she says.

Porphyrius looks back out into the crowd, _"Just hang on a little longer, Khazkak. Yang. I'm coming... And I won't be alone,"_ he mentally notes.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. The battle for Menagerie has ended, and the Faunus have now joined the Belladonna's cause to protect Haven. Also, Porphyrius mends his ways with Ilia as they look to the future. I wanted to get through this part of volume 5 before continuing on my other stories. Anyway, things in Menagerie have calmed down, but what about Mistral? Will Khazhak and Ruby's group be alright? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	91. Chapter 86: The More the Merrier

**Here we are at Chapter 86. Now then, the time has come for the next stage in this game for Remnant. Also saw the new outfits for Team RWBY in volume 7, and they are AWESOME. You know that that means: new outfits for Team KEPL and Voshkie'ahk. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 86. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 86: The More the Merrier**

It is late out as Ruby and Khazhak's group are at Haven Academy, walking towards one of the campus' main buildings. As they walk, they pass by the CCT tower for the school. However, as they're walking, Khazhak stops momentarily.

 **"Be on your guard,"** Bahamut tells him.

"Brother, is something wrong?" Lloyd asks.

 **"I sense it too,"** Tiamat adds.

"Tiamat?" Voshkie'ahk mutters.

"Lloyd, Voshkie'ahk. Stay out here and stay out of sight. Do not do ANYTHING until I call for you," Khazhak orders them.

"Um, are you sure, Khazhak?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"Yes. Something... doesn't feel right," Khazhak says before rejoining the others.

Lloyd and Voshkie'ahk stare at each other before doing what he asked and moving out of sight into the shadows. Meanwhile, the rest of the group head inside the building, finding Professor Lionheart on the terrace in the center of the large room of the building, flanked by two stairways, and a statue of a woman underneath him, holding the terrace up.

"Why hello. Thank you for... coming. There... seems to be more of you than last time," Lionheart greets them, though with a nervous chuckle.

Qrow and the rest of the group stop to look up at Lionheart.

"Well, you know what they say, 'The more the merrier'. So, what's going on with the council?" Qrow asks.

"Why... did you bring your weapons?" Lionheart asks, looking a bit on edge.

"Why wouldn't we? We're huntsman, after all," Khazhak notes, crossing his arms.

"Of course! Of course. My apologies, young man. Just haven't had my evening coffee," Lionheart plays it off.

"Look, it's nice to see you, but we got work to do. Are we getting support from the council or not?" Qrow asks.

While they talk, Yang Xiao Long notices from the corner of her eye a black bird perched on a balcony railing.

"Mom?" Yang states.

Everyone's attention is turned to the bird. It flies away just as Khazhak fires a spark shot at it, but he misses. The bird flies down behind Lionheart, transforming into Raven, donning her mask. Everyone glares at her.

"Raven," Khazhak growls at her.

"They... they really are magic," Nora mutters.

Raven takes off her mask, "If you're going to shoot me, shoot me. That was insulting," Raven jokes.

Qrow takes out and activates his sword, "What are you doing here?!" he yells.

Raven starts walking down the stairs, "I could ask you the same thing. You've been scheming, little brother. Planning to attack your own sister," Raven notes.

"Leo... what have you done?!" Qrow seethes at Lionheart.

"Seems like he sold us out," Reaper says, clenching his fists.

"I...," Lionheart begins.

Raven interrupts him, "Leo did what any sane person would in his position - he looked at all the information he had in front of him, assessed the situation, and made a choice. And it seems you all have too," she says, glaring at Yang and Khazhak.

"You have the Spring Maiden," Qrow says, getting a little angrier now.

"I do, as I'm sure you found out a while back," Raven notes.

"Then hand her over and let's work together! We can beat Salem!" Qrow tries to reason with her.

"All that time spent spying for Ozpin and you still have no idea what you're dealing with. There is no beating Salem!" Raven retorts.

"You're wrong," Ruby begins, gaining her attention. "We've done things that most people would call impossible, and I know the only reason we were able to do it is because we didn't do it alone! We had people to teach us, people to help us, we had each other. Work with us. At least I know we'll have a better chance if we try together. Please," Ruby pleads with her, holding out her hand to Raven.

Raven glares at Ruby, "You sound just like your mother," she notes.

Suddenly, Raven draws her sword and creates a portal with her Semblance. From the portal, a fireball is launched at Ruby. Khazhak reacts fast enough to pull out his sword and block the attack to protect her. Khazhak narrows his eyes as he sees Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, and Vernal step out of the portal.

"Hello boys and girls," Cinder greets them.

Ruby glares at her, "Cinder," she mutters with anger.

Cinder and her group line up alongside Raven, with everyone else shocked to see them here.

"C'mon guys, is that any way to greet your old friends?" Mercury taunts them.

'I should've gutted you like a fish when I had the chance back in Vale," Khazhak says, glaring at him.

"Well, too bad, you missed your chance," Mercury replies, and then sees Khazhak's prosthetic arm. "Looks like you went through some trouble. How's the arm?" he taunts him.

"How's the FACE? The last time I saw it, I was slamming it into the wall several times as I was beating the crap out of you!" Khazhak retorts, making Mercury growl at him a bit.

"Everybody, stay calm," Qrow tries to calm them down.

Suddenly they hear the doors behind them open up, and Oscar looks back.

"Oh no...," Oscar mutters.

Hazel Rainart is seen closing the doors behind him as he enters the room. He then faces the group.

"The White Fang is prepping demolition and securing the school grounds. No one's getting in... and no one's getting out," Hazel says.

Outside, a White Fang soldier is seen placing a bomb on the CCT tower. The camera zooms out to show more bombs all primed set by more White Fang soldiers. All-the-while, Adam Taurus looks on.

"Once the charges are set, move back to perimeter watch. Tonight, Haven falls," Adam declares, showing an evil smile.

In the shadows, Lloyd and Voshkie'ahk watch this before sharing worried glances with each other.

Back inside, everyone watches Hazel slowly approach them. They turn their attention back to Cinder.

"This was all just a trap?" Weiss says.

"It appears so," Ren adds distastefully.

"Yeah, and we walked right into it," Reaper says.

Qrow glares at Raven, "Raven, tell me... how long have you been with them?" he asks.

Cinder begins to mock him, "Aww, don't take it personally, little bird. Your sister was a recent addition. The lion on the other hand... Entrance into the Vytal Festival was a real treat, Leonardo's been sending Salem all sorts of information for a very, very long time. Isn't that right, professor?" she says.

"Stop it..." Lionheart replies, looking away in shame.

"It was you...," Qrow begins, getting Lionheart's attention. "You sit on the Mistral Council. You had information on every Huntsman and Huntress in the Kingdom, and you gave it all to her?" Qrow asks, shocked at this revelation.

"I-," Lionheart tries to explain.

"I couldn't find any of them, because you let her kill them!" Qrow exclaims, angry at this betrayal.

Lionheart says nothing, only having a sad expression on his face.

Now, Khazhak is livid, "You cowardly, traitorous son of a bitch! When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna rip your tail right out of your ass and SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT!" he shouts.

 **"Betraying your allies for some pitiful sense of self-preservation. I cannot think of anything more cowardly or pathetic,"** Bahamut notes, his own rage flaring a bit.

"Aw now, don't beat yourself up about it, Lionheart, I'm sure Tyrian and Hazel would've found them on their own eventually," Cinder says mockingly.

"What is wrong with you...?" Jaune asks, seething. "How can you be so broken inside... to take so many lives, and then come here and rub it in our faces like it's something to be proud of?!" Jaune asks, his rage growing.

"Jaune...," Nora mutters with worry.

"All with that damn smile on your face!" Jaune yells, livid as he stares at the one who killed Pyrrha.

The outburst causes everyone else to draw their weapons.

"Everybody, stay calm!" Qrow pleads with them, but to no avail.

"I'm gonna make you pay for what you did! Do you hear me?!" Jaune yells at Cinder. Cinder just stares at him. "Well?! SAY SOMETHING!" Jaune demands.

Soon enough, Cinder responds.

"...Who are you again?" Cinder asks, completely dismissing Jaune's outburst.

That is the last straw for Jaune as he switches his sword into its two-hander form and charges at Cinder. Cinder smirks as she conjures up one of her blades in her right hand. Jaune runs at her and makes an upward swing, but she blocks it with her sword, smiling all the same.

"Jaune!" Ruby says.

Aiming her weapon behind her, she fires it off to propel her forward into the air. She her weapon extends into its scythe form, she gets ready to support him, only for Emerald to wrap one of her chains around Ruby's waist, pulling her back down to the ground.

"You're not getting near her," Emerald notes.

Cinder pushes Jaune back, but before she can counterattack, Reaper joins the fray, twirling his twin-scythe around to separate her from Jaune.

"Stay out of this!" Jaune yells.

"Don't be a fool. Remember, she's the Fall Maiden. She's too powerful for you to take on by yourself. We'll face her together," Reaper replies.

"It won't make a difference. You'll all die all the same," Cinder says.

"We'll see about that," Reaper retorts before he and Jaune charge at her together.

Meanwhile, Yang goes to help Ruby, but Mercury blocks her path as he lands in front of her.

"Hey there, blondie. I'm thinking you owe me for my leg," Mercury says.

Yang just narrows her eyes and fires off her gauntlets behind her, propelling her towards him.

"Take out the heiress. Don't bother wasting your power on her. She isn't worth it," Raven orders Vernal, but then pulls her sword to block a strike from Qrow's blade as their weapons clash.

"Running away was one thing, but THIS... You've crossed the line, Raven," Qrow says, angry.

"Sorry brother. Sometimes, family disappoints you like that," Raven retorts.

"We're not family anymore," Qrow decides.

"We're we ever?" Raven asks.

"I thought so, but I guess I was wrong," Qrow replies.

Qrow then backflips away, while Raven jumps after him, making a side swing with her sword. Qrow flips over it to gain some distance, but Raven is on him again. They slash their blades at one another, only for Raven to kick Qrow away. However, as he goes flying back, Khazhak jumps over him, spinning in the air with his sword as he smashes it down on Raven's and the two glare at each other in the eye.

"I guess it's time for your next lesson, my apprentice," Raven says.

"You have nothing left to teach me, Raven," Khazhak says as he pushes her back.

Raven and Khazhak make two swings at each other, each one clashing with the other's blade. Raven then thrusts her blade at him, but he deflects it with his left arm before kicking her back. He fires off a few spark shots, while Raven backflips away to dodge them. Qrow gets back into the fight as he comes in on the side and makes an upward swing at Raven. Raven blocks the strike, only for Khazhak to jump in the air with his sword held back. Raven jumps away, causing Khazhak's attack to hit the ground instead of her. The two eye her before attacking again. Meanwhile, Vernal approaches Weiss.

"Let's see what the Schnee name is really about," Vernal says, gaining her attention as she pulls out her pistols.

Weiss aims her rapier at her, "I'm more than just a name," she says.

"Hmm, prove it," Vernal challenges her.

Weiss conjures up a glyph beneath her feet and slides across the floor at her. Hazel looks on as the fighting continues, only to see Ren and Nora approach him.

"I don't wish to fight either of you," Hazel says.

"Nor I, you," Ren starts, raising one of his pistols.

"But we will if you're with her," Nora adds.

Hazel cracks his neck and knuckles as he slowly approaches them, "So be it," he mutters.

Back with Reaper and Jaune, Jaune swings down on Cinder with his sword, but she deflects the blade with her own, causing him to run past her. Reaper comes in, spinning his twin-scythe around as he spins and makes another swing at her. Cinder leans back to dodge it, followed by blocking another strike with her blade. Reaper separates his scythes and gets a hit in on Cinder's right shoulder, followed by a kick to the chest. Cinder staggers a bit, but then notices Jaune coming in front behind. He spins around him as he attacks, kicking him into Reaper. Reaper moves Jaune aside, only to get a fire blast to the chest as he falls to the ground.

"I won't lose to weaklings like you two," Cinder notes.

Reaper gets back up and fuses his scythes back together, "I wouldn't be so sure," he mutters.

Jaune runs at her first, clashing his blade against her own, only to see Reaper come in from her right side, jumping into the air with his twin-scythe reeled back. She grits her teeth and pushes Jaune away, spinning around and swinging her left arm, sending out an arc of flames that nail Reaper, sending him back to the floor. Jaune sees this and gets angry before getting back into the fight. Meanwhile, Lionheart watches the fighting on the terrace, only to notice Oscar walking up behind him.

"Young man, I don't know who you are or what you think you're doing, but for your sake, I suggest you leave. Now," Lionheart warns him, holding the shield-type weapon on his left wrist. Oscar doesn't listen to him as he takes a few more steps toward Lionheart. "I'm warning you!" Lionheart yells as he aims his weapon at Oscar. However, Oscar prepares to draw something from behind him. "That's enough!" Lionheart yells. Lionheart rotates his weapon, having a glyph appear above it which then conjures a flaming rock that launches at Oscar, who crosses his arms in front of him defensively as the attack explodes. Oscar is unscathed, his aura protecting him. He continues to proceed up the steps and draws his cane, shocking Lionheart as he recognizes the weapon. His eyes widen, "Ozpin?" he gasps.

Oscar smirks for a second, "Not quite," he says, holding the cane with both hands as he charges at Lionheart.

Oscar makes two swings with his cane that Lionheart barely manages to block with his weapon, but he staggers back. Oscar makes three more strikes, forcing Lionheart against the wooden railing. Oscar attacks him again. Lionheart avoids the strike, but stumbles backwards over the steps. Oscar jumps into the air, swinging his cane downwards at Lionheart that he blocks again. He then makes a series of swings that eventually cause Lionheart to stagger back a few feet.

"This can't be... I knew you would be back, but... you made it here! You found Qrow! How?" Lionheart asks.

 _"Leo... what happened to you?"_ Ozpin asks mentally.

Lionheart begins to think though, "Wait. You can't have had this form for long. You're... not really Ozpin right now. Boy. A child. If I deliver you to Salem, she'll have to be pleased with me, and I can finally get out of all of this! I can finally be free!" Lionheart thinks and aims his weapon at Oscar again.

"What do I do?" Oscar asks Ozpin.

 _"Fight,"_ Ozpin replies dryly, and then Oscar runs forth again.

Back with Khazhak and Qrow, Raven jumps into the air as Khazhak smashes his left fist down on her, only hitting the ground instead. Raven lands and parries a strike from Qrow as the twins clash their blades again. However, Khazhak attacks again, and now both his and Qrow's blade clash against Raven's. The two push her back, and then double kick her away.

"Lionheart said you and Qrow were evenly matched. But through a dragon into the mix, and that changes things, huh?" Khazhak taunts her.

Raven grits her teeth, but before Khazhak can continue, he notices Weiss get sent flying back by Vernal by one of her pistols being thrown into the air, sending her rolling across the floor.

Qrow sees this too, "Go help her out. I'll handle things her," Qrow says as he readies his blade.

Khazhak nods and runs to Weiss' aid. Vernal stands over Weiss as she struggles to get up, and readies to swing one of her pistols. However, before she can, she suddenly gets blind-sided by a left punch from Khazhak, sending her sliding across the floor. Vernal gets up to face her new opponent.

"You alright?" Khazhak asks Weiss without looking at her.

"I'm... fine," Weiss replies as she gets up to one knee.

"Take a second to catch your breath. I'll deal with her for a bit," Khazhak replies and takes a few more steps towards Vernal. "So, you must be Raven's lapdog. I must admit, I expected more," Khazhak insults her.

"Hmph, and you're Raven's FORMER apprentice. She said you were strong. Let's see how strong," Vernal says before taking a few shots at Khazhak.

Khazhak swings his sword around to deflect each shot. Vernal then throws both of her pistols at Khazhak, their blades spinning in the air. However, Khazhak does a spinning hook kick to knock one away, and then simply catches the second one in his left hand. Vernal is stunned by the display as she catches the one pistol that Khazhak kicked away. Khazhak glances at the weapon in his left hand.

"I guess Raven never told you. She's the only one in your tribe that can take me on," Khazhak says before throwing back Vernal's weapon at her.

Vernal manages to catch it, only to get knocked back by a shoulder tackle from Khazhak. He charges up his sword and sends out his Lightning Oblivion technique at her. Vernal races across the floor, dodging and rolling around each lightning bolt. However, her focus is off, giving Khazhak the chance to come in, grab her left arm, and then head-butt her in the face, followed by a kick to the stomach that sends her crashing into a nearby pillar.

"I'm disappointed," Khazhak mutters, getting ready to attack again, only for Weiss to get in his way.

"I appreciate the help, but I can take care of things from here. Go help the others," Weiss says, aiming her rapier at Vernal again.

Khazhak remains silent for a moment before eventually nodding, "Alright. Just don't die on me," he says and runs off to join in on another brawl.

Vernal gets back up and sees Weiss standing before her again, "You're gonna regret making him leave you to fight me alone," she warns her.

"We'll see about that," Weiss retorts.

Back in the fight between Cinder, Jaune, and Reaper, Jaune gets knocked to the ground by Cinder, who stands over him. However, Reaper sends out some of his skull phantoms to attack her. Cinder jumps back and then uses her power to create a shockwave of flames that destroy the phantoms. Reaper comes in and spins around to swing his twin-scythe upwards at her again. Cinder moves to the right to evade it and brings her sword down on him, which he blocks with the staff of his weapon.

"Do you honestly think you can defeat me? Against the power that I possess?" Cinder taunts him.

"At least I didn't STEAL my power, unlike you Cinder. You're not a warrior. You're nothing but a thief," Reaper retorts.

"How dare you!" Cinder exclaims.

Angered by the insult, Cinder's blade bursts out into a sword of pure flames. She pushes Reaper back and then makes a downward swing, slicing Reaper's twin-scythe in half. She then makes an upward swing at his face. The force of the attack combined with the flames is enough to knock Reaper's mask off of his face, and knock him to the ground. Reaper's eyes widen as he realizes what happened and looks around to find his mask behind him. As he goes for it, Cinder hits him from behind with a blast of fire.

"What's wrong? Can't fight without your precious mask?!" Cinder taunts him.

Reaper manages to get back on his feet, only to start coughing again, and leaving him open to a few more sword strikes from Cinder's flame sword, taking out his aura and sending him to the ground once more. Reaper starts crawling to his mask, while Cinder gets ready to finish him off. However, Jaune enters the fray again, making a downward slash with his sword to stop her advance and then swinging again to make her jump back.

"Reaper, are you alright?" Jaune yells.

Reaper manages to reach his mask and puts it back on, trying to steady his breathing.

"I'll... be... fine," Reaper coughs.

Ruby looks over and sees Reaper on the ground. She then looks over to see Jaune and Cinder charging at each other again. The scene reminds her of when Cinder killed Pyrrha at Beacon.

"NNNNOOOOOOO!" Ruby screams as her Silver Eyes shine again across the room.

However, Emerald knocks her out from behind with her blades, stopping her power. The second she does though is when Khazhak jumps into the fray, smashing his left fist down on her. Emerald steps back to avoid it, but can't react fast enough to avoid a spinning slash from his blade. Emerald fires off a few shots, only for Khazhak to block them with his left arm and his sword. Emerald then uses her semblance to create an illusion of Ruby in front of him, but this only angers Khazhak.

"You think you can trick me with an illusion of my master? You think you can trick me, twice?!" Khazhak yells as lightning surges around his left arm.

"As if such a feeble trick would work on someone with a dragon's senses," Bahamut notes.

Khazhak roars as he smashes his left fist into the ground, sending out a surge of lightning outwards towards the illusion. The illusion vanishes, and the lightning continues forth until it hits Emerald, making her reappear again. Khazhak then charges at her and shoulder tackles her into the wall behind her, followed by a vicious left backhand strike to her face, sending her to the ground. While this happens, Jaune sees Cinder on her knees, clutching her left arm in pain. He makes a thrusting strike with his sword aimed at her head, but she narrowly evades it at the last second, only having her mask clipped a bit from the attack. Cinder jumps away as Jaune falls onto his back. Cinder gets back up, her powers flaring as she walks over to Jaune and stomps down on his stomach with her right heel.

"Did you think you actually had a chance against me?! YOU?!" Cinder seethes, watching Jaune feebly reach for his sword. Cinder calms down, "You're just a failure with a death wish," she notes.

Jaune grunts a bit, "If I die buying them time, then it's worth it. They're the ones that matter. Khazhak taught me how to put others before myself, and I still believe him," Jaune says defiantly.

They look on, seeing the others fight. Cinder then looks back down at him and smiles.

"You think so, do you?" Cinder says, smiling evilly as she looks to the side and sees Weiss fall onto the ground from Vernal, her aura now depleted.

Cinder slowly walks over to her, conjuring up a spear in her right hand as she takes aim.

"No... NO!" Jaune yells as he reaches out to stop her, but to no avail.

Reaper hears this and looks over to Cinder and Weiss. He then pushes himself off the floor and runs to them. Cinder throws the spear at Weiss. Weiss hears something behind her and looks to see Reaper standing before her.

"Rea-*gasp*," Weiss gasps in horror as she finally notices the spear impaled through Reaper's chest, where his left lung would be.

Everyone else stop their fighting, with Reaper's allies looking on in shock and horror at the scene. Reaper gasps himself as he looks down at the spear before it disintegrates. Weiss can only look on in horror as Reaper gives her one last look before falling onto the floor. Off to the side, Khazhak sees this and his eyes widen.

"REAPER!"

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. That one took a while. I know some were thinking about how this battle would go because of Khazhak's team, so I separated some of them from the first part of the fight to even it out a bit. I do have a bad guy OC set up, but they won't appear until Volume 6. The battle for Haven has begun, and already things aren't looking good for our heroes. Reaper saved Weiss, but was the cost too high? Will Khazhak and his allies stop Cinder's group? Will Reaper survive? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	92. Chapter 87: Vault of the Spring Maiden

**Here we are at Chapter 87. Time for the next stage in the battle for Haven. Let's see if Khazhak and Ruby's group can turn the tide. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 87. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 87: Vault of the Spring Maiden**

"REAPER!" Khazhak yells as he sees Reaper on the ground after using his body as a shield to protect Weiss from Cinder's spear. Jaune grabs his sword and rushes over to him to help, while Cinder just smirks as he runs by her.

"Reaper?! Reaper! Say something, please!" Weiss yells as she tries to help him.

Khazhak looks on before he clenches his fists and looks up to the ceiling, "LLOYD! VOSHKIE'AHK!" he shouts.

A moment later, Lloyd and Voshkie'ahk burst through the ceiling, landing in the center of the room.

"Brother, what's- Reaper!" Lloyd exclaims as he sees Reaper on the ground.

"Khazhak, what's going on?!" Voshkie'ahk asks as she runs to her brother.

Khazhak glares at Lionheart, "We've been betrayed by Lionheart. He's working for Salem!" he tells them.

Lionheart steps back fearfully from the glare, only for Oscar to come up from behind and hit him in the skull with his cane, sending the headmaster rolling down the stairs and crashing into Hazel, who doesn't move. Hazel grabs him by the collar of his shirt and picks him up. Meanwhile, Oscar runs to check on Ruby.

"Ruby, get up! You need to get up!" Oscar asks as Khazhak and Nora joins him.

"You're letting that boy make a fool of you" Hazel notes to Lionheart.

"That's not just a boy. It's Ozpin! He's already reincarnated!" Lionheart says.

Hazel's eyes widen as he drops Lionheart and looks over to Oscar, seeing Ozpin's cane in his left hand.

"Ozpin..." Hazel mutters, before he starts growling as he suddenly gets VERY angry.

Ruby begins to stir awake, "Ruby, you're-," Oscar begins.

"OZPIN!" Hazel yells, getting their attention.

"Oh no," Ozpin mutters worriedly.

Hazel approaches them, "You thought you could hide from ME?!" Hazel seethes as he begins ripping apart his jacket, shocking everyone. He then grabs four lightning Dust crystals from side pouches on his waist. "You'll pay for what you did! You'll die! Over and OVER AGAIN!" Hazel yells and then stabs the Dust crystals into his arms.

The Dust charges lightning through his body as his eyes start to glow yellow, and he roars a monstrous roar towards them, his voice becoming more menacing.

"Oh crap," Khazhak mutters.

 **"Things just became far more difficult,"** Bahamut adds.

"Do we fight?" Oscar asks fearfully.

"No, run!" Ozpin tells him.

Hazel jumps at him, but Lloyd gets in the way, clashing his claws against Hazel's hands.

"Whoa, this guy's a tough one!" Lloyd grits his teeth.

Hazel roars and picks Lloyd up before throwing him into a nearby pillar. Qrow and Khazhak come in, with Qrow going high while Khazhak goes low. They swing their blades at his side, but Hazel blocks their attacks with his arms. Grabbing their sword, he tosses them away. Just then, Voshkie'ahk throws a few fire Dust cards at his back. They explode, but they seem to do little damage.

"What's this guy made out of?" Voshkie'ahk mutters.

 **"I've never seen anything like this from your kind before. Be extremely cautious, my child,"** Tiamat tells her.

Meanwhile, Cinder, Raven, and Vernal, look on from the side.

"Ozpin is HERE?!" Cinder realizes.

"Is that a problem?" Raven asks.

Cinder looks down, "I'm not sure. But, right now, we've got the upper hand. Let's not waste it," she says and turns to Lionheart. "Leo, open the pathway to the vault," she orders him.

Lionheart gets up and pulls out his pocket watch, placing it in a part of the golden chain around the statue's waist. Gears are heard turning before the statue lowere with the terrace above it, becoming more like an elevator.

"Make sure they leave Ruby and Khazhak ALIVE. This won't take long," Cinder says before boarding the elevator along with Vernal.

Raven casts one last look to them before leaving as well and the elevator goes down into the vault. Meanwhile, Yang looks at them leaving and tries to go after them, only to get a kick to the face from Mercury, knocking her to the ground.

"If you want to get to her, then you're going to have to beat all of us," Emerald says, using her semblance to creat multiple copies of Mercury surrounding Yang.

However, they are all blown away when Voshkie'ahk throws a wind Dust card at them, sending Emerald and Mercury sliding back.

"You're not just dealing with her. You're dealing with me, as well," Voshkie'ahk says as she stands with Yang, who gets back on her feet. "You okay?" she asks.

Yang clenches her fists, "I'll be fine. Let's make this quick," she says, and the two charge forth at their opponents.

Meanwhile, Jaune, Ren, and Weiss try to help Reaper, with Jaune holding his hands down on the wound, while Ren checks his pulse, and Weiss hold his other hand. They can see Reaper gasping for air, even with the mask on.

"Ren, talk to me!" Jaune asks,

"This is bad. He has a punctured lung. It's getting harder for him to breath," Ren tells him.

"No, come on Reaper. Not again. Please, be okay," Jaune pleads.

"Reaper, please, you have to be okay! Please, just listen to our voices," Weiss weeps as tears well up in her eyes.

Reaper turns to her, "W-We...iss..." he gasps.

"Reaper, please, stay with me," Weiss cries.

Back in the fight, Oscar jumps back from Hazel as he throws another punch at him.

 _"Oscar,"_ Ozpin asks.

"No!" Oscar retorts, before jumping back again.

Khazhak comes in, firing a few spark shots at Hazel's back. This doesn't seem to do anything other than get his attention, as he turns and throws a hard left hook at Khazhak. Khazhak slides under the swing, swinging his sword at Hazel's legs. It staggers him for a moment, giving Lloyd the chance to come in with a steel-enhanced right arm and throw a punch at his chest. However, Hazel blocks by crossing his arms, and the attack only makes him slide back a bit. Hazel roars as he charges at Lloyd, who meets the charge with his own. Lloyd does a double jump kick, but Hazel grabs him in mid-air and slams him on the ground. He goes to stomp his left foot down on him, but Lloyd uses his semblance to protect himself, though he still feels the impact. Hazel then kicks him away.

 _"Oscar, please,"_ Ozpin asks again.

"I told you, no!" Oscar retorts, but then gets sent flying into a pillar from a punch by Hazel.

 _"Please, let me take over. I can handle him,"_ Ozpin says, while Oscar sees Khazhak backflipping away from being crushed by Hazel's arms as they slam into the ground.

"You said that I need to fight for myself. So I will," Oscar says as he gets back on his feet.

 _"I understand, except that this is NOT your fight,"_ Ozpin tells him.

"What are you talking about? Why is he so mad at us?" Oscar asks.

"He didn't tell you my tale, did he boy?" Hazel asks, throwing Lloyd off to the side before walking towards Oscar. "I thought you looked familiar. To think that evil lived inside of you when our paths first crossed. Your blood won't be on my hands... It'll be on his," Hazel says as he raises his fists up high.

However, Khazhak comes in again from the side, kicking Hazel in the right side. He then makes another swing of his blade, only for Hazel to block it with his right arm. Qrow comes in to attack his front, but Hazel bats his sword away, grabs Qrow and throws him into Khazhak, knocking them aside.

"What was he talking about?" Oscar asks.

"Tell him Ozpin. Tell him how you killed her!" Hazel yells.

Lloyd gets in his way, firing off his gauntlets, but Hazel blocks the shots with his arms. Lloyd comes in, his arms encased in steel, and makes a double uppercut into his stomach. The attack sends Hazel into the air, but Hazel roars as he reels his fists back and falls towards him. Lloyd crosses his arms above him, and then Hazel smashes his arms down on him, sending up and smoke all over the place.

"Her?" Oscar asks.

 _"Gretchen Rainart was Hazel's little sister. Despite her brother's wishes, she enrolled at Beacon Academy to become a huntress... Sadly, she tragically lost her life during a training mission. Hazel holds me responsible. Please, let me fight. I know Hazel. He's wounded in a way that cannot be healed,"_ Ozpin asks.

"You know now," Hazel says as he tosses Lloyd off to the side. "You can forgive me for what I'm about to do," Hazel says as he walks towards Oscar again.

Oscar grits his teeth, "Did she know?" he asks, stopping Hazel. "Did she know the risks of being a huntress?" he asks.

"...She was only a CHILD! She wasn't ready!" Hazel angrily retorts.

"She made a choice. A choice to put others before herself. A choice that I made too," Oscar retorts.

"...Then you've chosen death," Hazel darkly says.

Khazhak gets back into it, making a punch with his left arm across Hazel's face. Hazel roars and throws a right punch at Khazhak, who meets the attack with his left fist. The two fists collide, sending out a shockwave across the entire room. The two push against each other, while also trying to use their respective lightning abilities to harm the other, though that works for neither of them.

"So that's it, huh? You decided to work for Salem, for what? Some misguided sense of vengeance?! If that's the case, then why go after those huntsmen and huntresses?" Khazhak yells.

"They worked for Ozpin. Their blood is on his hands, not mine!" Hazel retorts.

"And what about all those innocent people in Vale, or before that. Do you think your sister would want you spilling innocent blood in her name? When she wanted to protect the innocent? I know vengeance. I know the pain of losing those you love, but this is not the way the to go!" Khazhak retorts.

"My sister is dead! She can't say or feel anything anymore, and it's because Ozpin killed her!" Hazel roars.

Khazhak makes a swing with his sword, only for Hazel to catch it in his left hand. He grabs Khazhak's left hand and pulls him in for a knee shot to the stomach and then punches him away into a nearby pillar, now refocusing on Ozpin.

 _"...I'm sorry,"_ Ozpin says.

"Huh?" Oscar mutters.

However, Oscar falls onto his knees as Ozpin takes forceful control of his body, his eyes glowing green for a moment. Hazel sees this and quickly realizes that it's Ozpin he's fighting now.

"OOZZPPPIIIINNNN!" Hazel shouts.

Back with Jaune's group, they continue to try to help Reaper, but nothing seems to be working.

"His pulse is weakening. I... I don't know what else we can do," Ren sadly notes.

"No, no please. Reaper, don't die on us! Jaune cries.

"W-Weiss..." Reaper gasps as he looks at her.

"Reaper..." Weiss cries as tears begin to fall from her face.

"H-Help me... take this... mask off," he asks between weak breaths.

"What?! No, you'll..." Weiss trails off.

"Please... Let me look on you...with me own eyes...one last time," Reaper all but begs.

Weiss doesn't want to, but she can't figure out how to save him at this point. Sorrowfully, she takes his mask off and sees his scarred face again. He stares at her with a small smile.

"Thank you... Weiss..." Reaper gasps before his eyes close again.

Weiss' eyes widen, "Reaper? No, no, no, no, Reaper!" she screams.

"No, no, this wasn't supposed to happen. Please, we can't lose anyone else!" Jaune weeps.

Weiss holds Reaper's head, "Reaper, listen to me. I need you. I want to be with you. I want to get to know you more. I want to spend more time with you. I want... I want to go out on a date with you. I want to hold your hand. I want to... to kiss you. Please Reaper, don't leave me. Reaper... I love you!" Weiss yells through her tears.

However, unbeknownst to them, a shining white glow starts to come from Jaune's arms and spread across Reaper's body. A moment later... he takes a large gasp of air. Back in the fighting, Ozpin dodges around as Hazel tries to smash him into the ground, followed by throwing a few punches with one of them hitting a pillar behind Ozpin. Off to the side, Lionheart takes aim at him with his weapon, only for Khazhak to suddenly grab it with his left hand, spooking Lionheart.

"I told you I would get my hands on you!" Khazhak yells before kicking Lionheart back.

He then charges up his semblance before sending out a Lightning Devastation technique that nails Lionheart and sends him into a wall. Meanwhile, Ozpin twirls his cane around as he gets ready to face Hazel again. However, Lloyd comes in and shoulder tackles Hazel into a nearby pillar. He jumps away as Hazel makes a grab for him, only for Khazhak to come in and throw a roundhouse kick to Hazel's face. Lionheart gets up and sees this, only to narrowly block a shot that came from Qrow's blade. Lionheart fires off some flaming rocks that Qrow deflects with his sword before running at him to fight. Ozpin joins Khazhak and Lloyd, jumping into the air while swinging his cane as his head, hitting him as he lands behind Hazel. Lloyd comes in, swinging his claws at him, but Hazel blocks with his arms. Lloyd goes for a right claw swipe, only for Hazel to grab it with his right hand, and then grabs Lloyd by the throat with his left. He then slams Lloyd into the ground, followed by stomping his right foot down on his chest. He goes to do it again, but Lloyd activates his semblance to protect himself from the attack.

Hazel growls, but then Ozpin attacks from behind, hitting the back of his head with his cane. Khazhak comes in, jumping into the air with his left fist reeled back. He hits the left side of Hazel's face. Hazel swings his left arm, forcing Khazhak to block with his left arm, but slides back across the floor. Hazel then chases Ozpin towards the stairs. Ozpin Jumps around the stairs to evade Hazel's electric punches, and then makes another swing at his head. Hazel shakes it off, but then Lloyd double jump kicks him into the wall under the stairs. He goes for a punch, but Hazel dodges it and then throws an uppercut to send Lloyd flying. Ozpin rushes in and thrusts his cane at Hazel several times in quick succession, making him stagger back. Ozpin rolls under his legs and swings at his legs., making Hazel fall onto his knees. Khazhak adds to that by jumping up and curb-stomping his face into the floor. Khazhak, Lloyd, and Ozpin surround Hazel as he slowly gets back on his hands and knees. However, as they get ready to attack again, Haze roars as he raises his fists up high and then smashes them into the ground, sending all three of them flying. As they get up, Khazhak looks to the elevator where Cinder, Vernal, and Raven went.

"Lloyd, can you handle things here?" Khazhak asks.

Lloyd groans a bit as he holds his head, "I can manage, ow. What are you going to do?" he asks.

"...I'm going to stop this madness, once and for all," Khazhak says before he runs to the elevator.

Ruby watches him go, but is unable to stop him as he jumps into the pathway to the vault, heading deep down below. Back with Jaune's group, Reaper continues to heal somehow and he slowly opens his eyes.

"Reaper!" Weiss says with joy.

"Weiss... what is happening?" Reaper asks.

"I don't understand, what's-," Jaune begins.

"Reaper!" they hear and look to see Ruby and Nora join them. "Are you okay?" Ruby asks.

"I've... been better," Reaper replies.

"I think he's going to be okay. He seems to be stabilizing," Ren notes.

Ruby starts to smile, but then hears fighting behind her and looks to see Yang and Voshkie'ahk continue their battles against Emerald and Mercury. Yang blocks two right side kicks from Mercury with her left gauntlet and then throws a spin kick at him, which he dodges, but she hits him with a right cross, followed by a left uppercut, and then a right hook.

"Not so tough without your friend doing her little tricks to help you, huh," Yang taunts him.

Mercury growls before running back at her, jumping into the as he does a roundhouse kick, followed by a few spin kicks aimed at her head. Yang avoids most of them, but Mercury manages to get a hit in by knocking her arms off to the side, and then thrusting a hard right kick t her ribs, knocking her back. With the other battle, Emerald sees Mercury fight and tries to use her semblance on Yang again, only to get a fire Dust card to the shoulder, sending her to the ground. She slowly gets back up on her feet to see Voshkie'ahk calmly approach her, with an angry expression on her face.

"You're fighting me, so come on," Voshkie'ahk says as she pulls out several more cards and throws them at Emerald.

Emerald fires her pistols to take out the cards, but Voshkie'ahk comes in, throwing six cards into the air before jumping up there herself. She pulls out her sword handles and the cards fuse to them with aid from her semblance, becoming card swords. She falls as she spins around and swings her swords at Emerald. Emerald meets them with her sickle blades on her pistols as the two clash.

"Your style lack elegance," Voshkie'ahk notes before pushing Emerald back.

Emerald fires her pistols again, but Voshkie'ahk starts spinning around as if she's dancing, using her sword to block the bullets. Emerald then swings one of her chains around, but Voshkie'ahk leans back to evade it and swings her left blade to knock it back to Emerald.

"Just who do you think you are, little girl?" Emerald retorts.

"...I'm Khazhak's sister," Voshkie'ahk replies, shocking Emerald before Voshkie'ahk clashes her blades against Emerald's again. "You're master took so much from me. My parents... my home... putting Khazhak through so much suffering. I lost nearly everything because of her. In the end, it's all her fault!" Voshkie'ahk says while making several swings at Emerald, forcing her back a little bit each time.

Voshkie'ahk then activates the Dust in her blades, causing one to erupt in flames while the other is encased in lightning. Emerald tries to use her semblance to create an illusion of Khazhak in front of her while Emerald disappears. However, this only angers Voshkie'ahk.

"Using my own brother's illusion against me? You're no warrior, you're just a coward," Voshkie'ahk notes before closing her eyes. "I beseech thee... Tiamat... Grant me your power," she mutters.

 **"Yes, my child. You have my consent,"** Tiamat replies as Voshkie'ahk activates the Dragon Spirit.

Pure white dragon scales spread around Voshkie'ahk's right eye and grow to cover the left half of her face and part of her neck. She opens her eyes, showing slits now instead of pupils, and her left eye now glowing green like before. The scene scares Emerald a bit.

"Your semblance may work on a human or a Faunus... but it won't work on a dragon," Voshkie'ahk says before she closes her eyes.

Voshkie'ahk's heightened senses helps her figure out Emerald's position and she opens her eyes, swinging her left sword as the cards go flying, nailing Emerald with an electric shock as her illusion disappears.

"But how? First Khazhak, and now you?" Emerald questions her.

"Simple. You rely too much on your semblance to trick your enemies from the shadows. You don't know what it's like to truly fight at the front. Not like my brother, or myself," Voshkie'ahk retorts.

Voshkie'ahk pulls out a few more Dust cards and has them fuse with her sword hilt, with ice now engulfing the blade. Meanwhile, Ruby then turns her attention to the battle with Ozpin and Lloyd against Hazel. She sees Ozpin jump around as Hazel tries to smash him into the floor with his fists several times. Lloyd comes in and gets in between them, clashing his claws against Hazel's fists. However, Lloyd finds himself being pushed back by the raging monster until Hazel hoists him up into the air and tossing him aside. Lloyd lands on his feet and encases his right arm in steel spikes.

"STEEL BREAKER!" he yells and smashes his fist into the floor, sending out a surge of steel spikes towards Hazel. However, Hazel roars as he raises his fists into the air and smashes them down on the spikes as they get close, destroying them. Lloyd looks on in surprise. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me," he mutters before getting back into it. Ruby turns her attention back to Reaper and checks to see that whatever Jaune is doing is healing his injury.

"Whatever you're doing, don't stop," Ruby says.

"I won't," Jaune replies.

"Oscar and Lloyd need some help," Ruby says to Ren.

Ren stands with his pistols, "I'm on it," he says.

"Reaper and Jaune still need cover," Ruby adds.

Weiss and Nora stand with their weapons, "We won't let anyone touch them," Weiss says.

"Then let's do it," Ruby says as she picks up her weapon and stands up.

Ruby fires her scythe behind her, sending her into the air as she spins herself and her scythe around, swinging it at Mercury and making him jump back to rejoin Emerald while Ruby joins up with Yang and Voshkie'ahk.

"Thanks, Sis," Yang replies as she gets back up. "You okay?" she asks.

"No... I'm angry," Ruby says, and then looks to Voshkie'ahk. "We can handle things here. Can you go help Oscar, Lloyd, and Uncle Qrow?" she asks.

Voshkie'ahk nods, "I'm on it," she replies and runs over to the other battle.

Emerald and Mercury are about to try and stop her, only to have Ruby and Yang stand in their way.

"Your fight is with us," Ruby says.

Down in the vault below the school, Raven, Cinder, and Vernal walk down a pathway leading to a large tree standing over a large golden door; the vault of the Spring Maiden. As they walk, the pathway glows a bright light blue while glowing flowers from the tree bloom; their petals flowing towards and around them. One petal falls towards Vernal and she catches it in her right hand before it dissipates.

"Having fun?" Cinder jokes.

"Vernal, stay focused," Raven says as they approach her.

"Oh, come now, Raven. Let her enjoy this. It's a 'once in a lifetime' experience," Cinder says as they approach the doors of the vault.

"How does this work?" Vernal asks, seeing the door is made up of four fans over one another to block the path.

"Once the Spring Maiden places her hand on the door, the door will open. For you... and only you. Then I will enter the vault and claim the Relic. No one else. Is that clear?" Cinder explains.

"Yes. It doesn't matter to us. Let's just get this over with," Raven says, hands on her hips.

"Very well. Vernal, whenever you're ready," Cinder says. Vernal slowly walks towards the door. Meanwhile, Raven slowly reaches for her sword handle. However, Cinder begins to speak again, stopping her motion. "You know, I've heard so many stories about you Raven. They say that you're a cunning leader. That you're strong. That you're clever. Learning that Khazhak was your apprentice was certainly an interesting one..." Cinder says while Vernal reaches for the door. "...It seems he inherited his foolishness from you..." Cinder says before using her power to send out some ice at Raven's feet.

"VERNAL!" Raven yells before she is suddenly frozen solid.

Vernal turns and takes out her pistols, only for something to suddenly stab into her stomach. Cinder smirks as she looks back to Vernal. Vernal gasps as she looks down, seeing an elongated Grimm arm coming out from Cinder as her left arm, with its claws stabbed into Vernal's stomach.

"It's nothing personal, dear. You're simply not worthy of such power..." Cinder begins as she walks to Vernal, standing in front of her. "...But I am," she says, her powers flaring a bit, and then pushes Vernal to the ground while she screams in pain. "So I will TAKE what is MINE," Cinder says. Vernal tries desperately to free herself, while cracks start to appear around Raven's frozen prison. Eventually, Vernal's struggle ends as her arms fall to her side, her life leaving her. Cinder smirks, only to suddenly take a look of shock. "I don't understand. Where's the power?!" she yells, only to hear ice breaking behind her.

"You won't find it..." Raven says as she is now free from the ice. "... Because Vernal isn't the Spring Maiden... I AM!" Raven shouts as she shows her face, her powers showing... as the TRUE Spring Maiden.

"So that's how it is, huh," they hear and look back to see Khazhak land behind them, raising his head and narrowing his eyes at them.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. The battle for Haven continues, with Jaune's ability helping Reaper heal, and Ruby's allies regrouping against Cinder's forces. Meanwhile, Khazhak makes it into the fault to confront Raven and Cinder before they can claim the Relic. Will Ruby and her friends save Haven Academy? Will Khazhak be able to stop Raven and Cinder? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	93. Chapter 88: Downfall

**Here we are at Chapter 88. Time for part three of the battle for Haven, including the long-anticipated battle between Khazhak and Raven. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 88. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 88: Downfall**

At Haven, Ruby and Yang fire their weapons behind them, propelling them towards Emerald and Mercury. Emerald jumps back as Yang goes after her while Ruby faces off against Mercury. Ruby swings her scythe at Mercury, but he jumps back to avoid it and then counters by raising his left leg up and swinging it down, knocking Ruby's weapon out of her hands.

"Uh oh, what are you going to do now?" Mercury mocks her.

He goes to punch her, but Ruby ducks and then reels her up into his face, making him stagger back. Ruby then picks her scythe back up.

"Whatever it takes to shut you up," Ruby retorts.

Meanwhile, Voshkie'ahk throws four ice Dust cards at Hazel, exploding around him. However, Hazel quickly breaks free and charges at her. Lloyd comes in, smashing his fists into the ground to create a few steel spikes to block his path. Ozpin then appears over the spikes, hitting Hazel in the face as he moves behind him. The spikes dissipate, and then Lloyd tackles Hazel from behind. Hazel remains on his feet and smashes his fists down on Lloyd, knocking him to the ground again. Before he can do more, Voshkie'ahk throws a fire Dust card in his face. Ren comes in and kicks him in the back of the neck as the teens circle him. Hazel raises his fists up and smashes them on the ground, sending out an electrical shockwave that knocks them all back. Off to the side, Nora stands guard while Weiss and Jaune continue to aid Reaper.

"How are you guys doing?" Nora asks.

"Okay, it looks like. I just wish this would go faster," Jaune says.

"Look, stop complaining and just be thankful that you unlocked your semblance when you did," Nora replies.

"His semblance?" Weiss asks.

"How else would he be healing Reaper?" Nora says.

Jaune looks down at Reaper, "No, I don't think this is my semblance. I don't think I'm healing him. Our aura heals our bodies. I think I'm somehow using my aura to amplify his," Jaune theorizes.

"Wait, what if you run out?" Nora asks, worried.

"Heh, Pyrrha once told me that I have a lot of it. I still believe her," Jaune notes.

"Weiss... are you okay?" Reaper asks.

"Don't worry about me, you idiot. Just focus on getting better. Wait, your mask-," Weiss realizes and goes to grab his mask, only for Reaper to grab her arm and stop her.

"Wait, something feels different," Reaper says.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asks.

"My lungs... My throat... It feels like I..." Reaper trails off.

Back in the fighting, Ren runs around Hazel as he fires off a lightning shot at him. However, Hazel throws a right hook and sends Ren flying into a wall. Hazel fires off another lightning shot, but Voshkie'ahk lands in front of Ren and throws out a pair of lightning Dust cards to cancel it out. Qrow comes in to help, only for have to block a shot from Lionheart's weapon. This gives Hazel the chance to come in and punch him from behind, sending him flying into a railing on the second floor before falling to the ground. Lloyd comes in and throws a claw strike at his side, getting his attention. Lloyd has his arms and legs in steel and throws a few punches to Hazel's stomach, followed by a side kick to his ribs. However, when he goes for a front kick, Hazel grabs it and swings him around into the ground. Ozpin sees this, but can't help when Lionheart blasts him with a fire rock, knocking him to the ground. Hazel looks over to him and grabs Lloyd's head, electrocuting him as he screams in pain.

"How many more children must die for you?!" Hazel yells.

A wind Dust card blows Hazel off of Lloyd and he looks back to see Voshkie'ahk as white and golden-colored energy builds up around her.

"KADORYU ROAR!" Voshkie'ahk shouts in a breath attack of her own; a blast of golden energy that nails Hazel and sends him crashing through the front entrance of the building, landing in the courtyard in front of Adam and the White Fang.

 **"Time's up, my child,"** Tiamat says. Voshkie'ahk's power deactivates, her face returning to normal, before she falls onto her hands and knees, breathing heavily as she loses her strength. **"You need to rest and regain your strength,"** Tiamat notes.

"But... the battle's... not over yet. I need... more time," Voshkie'ahk mutters in between breaths.

Back outside, the White Fang look to Hazel.

"What's going on in there?" one White Fang member asks Adam.

"None of your concern," Hazel says, spooking them a bit as he rises to his feet.

He reaches into his pouches again, pulling out a pair of fire Dust crystals and stabbing them into his arms. Hazel roars as energy surges in him, giving him his second wind. Ruby looks at this and then turns back to her friends, seeing most of them tired and/or injured from the fighting. Back outside, Adam turns to his allies.

"Stay focused. Our friends are almost done here," Adam says as he and his soldiers begin walking away.

"ADAM!" they hear and look up to see Blake appear high up on a nearby building.

"Blake?" Adam mutters.

"Who is that?" Hazel asks.

Just then, Porphyrius stands next to Blake, "This is your once chance: stand down now," Porphyrius demands.

The White Fang aim their weapons at them, but Adam holds his arm out to stop them.

"Wait... Ha-ha-ha-ha, to think that I went through so much trouble to find you, only to have you deliver yourself to me. What's more, you brought the abomination here to die with you. I'm touched," Adam says, smirking.

Porphyrius narrows his eye at him, but Blake steps up, "This isn't what's right for the Faunus. Stop what you're doing and let's end this peacefully," Blake says.

"You're wrong, Blake. And you can't stop us," Adam retorts.

"No, we can't... Not by ourselves, anyway," Blake retorts.

"That's why they didn't come alone," Adam's group hear and look to the side to see Sun, along with a large group of Faunus from Menagerie, armed with shields and staffs.

"What?" Adam mutters in shock.

"Who's there?!" one White Fang member gasps as they look behind them to see Ghira leading the rest of the Menagerie Faunus towards them.

"Your brothers and sisters," Ghira declares.

Seeing themselves being surrounded causes the members of the White Fang to start murmuring amongst themselves in worry. However, Adam tries to reign them in.

"Make no mistake, brothers. These are our enemies, and we will not let them ruin-," Adam begins, only to be interrupted by a spotlight from the air appearing.

They look up to see a few Mistral police airships flying above them spotlights out and further surrounding them. In the leading airship, Kali is with the police.

"Adam Taurus, this is the Mistral Police Force. Lay down your weapons and surrender. Now," the police order him.

Inside the building, Ruby's group and Cinder's allies see the lights coming in through the windows, and wonder what's going on. Reaper sits up as Weiss and Jaune focus back on him.

"Reaper, are you okay?" Weiss asks.

"Yes, I'm fine. Better than fine, actually," Reaper says and takes a deep breath. "I... I can breathe again!" he cheers.

"What, but how?" Weiss asks.

Reaper looks at Jaune, "Jaune, I am in your debt. Your aura has amplified mine so much that it has restored my breathing. I can breathe on my own again. And what's more..." Reaper says as he creates a small skull phantom in his right hand.

Back outside, Adam looks back as Blake and Porphyrius jump to the floor to face them.

"How?! How did you do this?!" Adam yells.

"Adam... It's over," Blake tells him.

Adam and the White Fang look around, seeing their situation getting worse by the second. Adam, out of frustration, pulls out a detonation trigger.

"Then it's over for all of us," Adam says.

The White Fang members freak out as he pulls the trigger... only for nothing to happen. Adam is confused as he hits the button multiple times, only to get the same silent result.

"What are you doing? Trying to get us all killed?!" one member asks.

Adam grabs him by the shirt, "I am making humanity PAY FOR WHAT THEY'VE DONE!" Adam shouts in anger.

"We had someone take a look at your explosives. And after checking them out, she disarmed them," Porphyrius says, and looks back to see Ilia come out from the shadows, carrying some wires in her hands. "Is this the kind of person you want leading you, members of the White Fang. A man fueled by spite and vengeance who is willing to sacrifice his own allies when things go bad for him. More importantly, I thought the White Fang fought for the Faunus, so why are you so willing to hurt and kill your own kind? Why are you following someone who doesn't care who dies as long as he gets what HE wants? Can you answer me that?!" Porphyrius shouts to the members of the White Fang.

"Don't listen to that thing, my brothers. Those are nothing but false words from an abomination that shouldn't even exist. It would turn you against each other, and then stab you in the back the first chance it gets," Adam retorts, and then turns to Hazel. "What do we do?" he asks.

Hazel cracks his neck and his knuckles, "This is your business, not mine. FIX it," Hazel says.

"I told you, Adam..." Blake says, getting his attention. "... It's over," she says.

Adam growls in anger and charges at her. However, as he gets ready to swing his sword at her, Porphyrius gets in the way and blocks the attack with his right arm blade.

"Out of my way!" Adam yells.

"I don't think so. Besides, I owe you some payback for what you did to Yang," Porphyrius retorts before kicking Adam back.

Porphyrius switches his weapon into its brawler form and jumps into the air, right fist reeled back. He then smashes it on the ground in front of Adam, sending out a gravity wave that knocks him to the ground. Adam gets onto one knee and turns to his allies.

"Kill them all!" Adam orders them.

The White Fang members begin attacking the Faunus of Menagerie and the Mistral police force, who retaliate and fight back. Sun and Ilia are seen helping out the Faunus, while Adam tries to go after Blake again. However, Porphyrius intervenes and throws a few crosses with his gauntlets at Adam, who blocks with his sword. Porphyrius jumps back and engages his rifles, firing off some shots at Adam. Adam swings his sword around to block the shots and absorb the energy from them. Porphyrius disengages his rifles and charges his semblance in his right gauntlet. The two run at each other and swing their weapons, causing a massive shockwave. Off to the side, Hazel looks on, only for a large skull phantom to suddenly fly in and grab him in its teeth, flying him back into the building while Blake watches on. The skull phantom flies up and then smashes Hazel down on the ground before it dissipates. Hazel looks back to see Weiss and Reaper, with Reaper conjuring up another skull phantom in his hand.

"Now then, time for round two," Reaper says as he takes the skull phantom and sticks in on his face like a new mask. Red glowing bone armor wraps around his body, followed by a large red glowing scythe appearing in his right hand. "This should be fun," Reaper says, but then stops as he and Weiss notice something from the entrance.

Ruby and the others look back to see none other than Blake appear before them. They are all surprised to see Blake here, and Blake is just as surprised to see them. They may have been told about this by the members of Team KEPL, but actually seeing it is still a sight to behold. Blake turns her attention to Yang as the first person she acknowledges.

"Yang..." Blake mutters.

Ruby then regains focus," Yang, go!" she yells, pointing to the entrance to the vault.

Yang takes off running, but Emerald and Mercury try to stop her. However, Emerald fails to stop her and when Mercury grabs her right arm, Yang just ejects it from its socket and keeps running, jumping down the path to the vault. Emerald and Mercury go to give chase, only for a large red scythe spinning in the air to knock them both to the ground. They look up to see Reaper catch the scythe in his hands. Weiss stands with him as she readies her rapier. Ruby then looks back to Blake and nods to her. Blake nods back in understanding and heads back outside to help her people fight off the White Fang. Back down in the vault of the Spring Maiden, Khazhak confronts Raven and Cinder.

"So, this whole time, YOU were the Spring Maiden, Raven. Guess it's not too hard to figure out how that happened," Khazhak says, clenching his left fist.

"Khazhak, I don't suppose I can convince you to help me deal with Cinder here?" Raven asks rhetorically.

"Screw you, Raven. I'm not letting either of you claim the Relic. Now, I need you alive so you can open the vault, but as for Cinder, that's a different story," Khazhak says, aiming the tip of his blade at them.

Cinder laughs, "Ha-ha-ha-ha, come now Khazhak. You don't think you actually stand a chance against me, let alone against the two of us, do you?" she taunts him.

Khazhak lowers his sword and closes his right eye, "You forget, you're not the only one with a special power, Cinder... BAHAMUT!" Khazhak shouts.

 **"Yeeesssss... I grant you consent,"** Bahamut replies as the Dragon Spirit activates.

Dark blue scales spread from Khazhak's right eye, covering half of his face and his skull. His pupils become slits like before. A small, curved horn starts to portrude from his jaw line, and the scales spread to cover half of his neck, his right shoulder, and part of his right arm and the upper right side of his back and chest. Khazhak roars to the ceiling before looking back at his enemies, his right eye glowing red now.

"Let's go... Bahamut," Khazhak mutters.

Khazhak shoots over to them. Raven jumps over him, but he goes right after Cinder. Cinder uses fire to propel herself into the air, only for Khazhak to jump after her and collide with her into the stone walls around the vault door. The dust clears, showing Khazhak clashing his blade against another one of Cinder's conjured blades. They push each other back, but then look up to see Raven jump into the fray, her sword out wide. She swings her sword and Khazhak jumps back to avoid it. Cinder then pushes Raven away and soon all three are back on the floor. Khazhak runs at them again, swinging his sword at Cinder who parries it with her own, and then makes a downward swing at Raven, who swings hers to meet the strike. Cinder comes from behind, but Khazhak backflips over her, causing her to attack Raven instead.

Raven swings her blade down while Cinder swings to her left. Raven then shoots past her to attack Khazhak, swinging at his side only for him to block with his left arm. Khazhak knocks it away and fires off a spark shot, but Raven jumps to the side, creating a small ice wall to bounce off of and back at him. Cinder joins in and both swing their sword at him, but Khazhak leans back under the attacks. Cinder blocks a strike from Raven, and then jumps as Khazhak tries to swipe at her with his left hand. Raven makes two swings with her blade at him, but Khazhak parries each one with his own. Raven swings down at him, but Khazhak jumps back, and her blade meets Cinder's instead. The two take a few swings at each other, but the Khazhak jumps over them with his left fist reeled back with lightning. They both jump back before he can smash it down on them and then go back at it again. Khazhak swings his blade as they swing theirs and all except for Khazhak's blade shatter into pieces. One of those pieces gets stabbed into Cinder's Grimm arm, and she cries in pain for a second.

"Ah, isn't that a shame," Khazhak mocks her.

"Aura can't protect your arm. It's GRIMM," Raven adds.

"Grimm have no souls and therefore no aura to protect themselves. You turned yourself into a monster just so you could obtain power," Khazhak notes.

Cinder pulls the shard out and creates another blade in her right hand, "Like you two are ones to talk," Cinder retorts before she attacks again.

Raven pulls out another blade to block two strikes from her, but then Khazhak gets in the way by thrusting his sword in between them and then spinning it around at both of them. Raven swings her sword at his back, but he moves his blade behind him to block it. Cinder attacks from the front, but he blocks her blade with his left arm. Khazhak then front kicks Cinder away and then back kicks Raven away to get some space between them. He charges up his semblance and swings his sword out wide with his Lightning Oblivion technique, sending lightning bolts at both of them. Raven and Cinder evade the attack and then charge in again. The three start zipping around the pathway as they clash with their blades. Cinder deflects one strike from Raven, and then jumps out of the way from a left punch by Khazhak. Raven goes in and swings her blade upwards, but Khazhak deflects it with his blade while spinning around to counter with a strike of his own. Raven jumps back and Khazhak's blade hits the ground. Cinder jumps in at Raven, their blade meeting again, and once again both of their blades shatter. The force of the impact forces both of them back. However, they then turn to Khazhak, who charges up more lightning again.

"RAIRYU ROAR!" Khazhak yells as he makes his breath attack at them.

The two women evade his breath attack by a hair and then draw more sword, one for Raven and two for Cinder. The three then charge at each other again. Raven swings her sword at Cinder, who meets it with her blade while they both dodge a swing from Khazhak's blade. Cinder swings her blades at him, only for Khazhak to swing his left arm, smashing both of them, followed by spinning around and swinging his sword downwards at Raven who attacks with her blade and destroys that as well. They draw out more swords and Cinder attacks Khazhak from behind. Khazhak ducks low as Raven swings her sword at his head, causing their blades to meet and shatter. Khazhak performs a low sweep kick at their legs, making them jump over him while he rolls back onto his feet. He then thrusts his blade at Cinder, destroying one blade and then spins his sword around to shatter the second. Raven attacks from his left flank, but Khazhak catches her blade in his left hand and simply crushes it to pieces. Cinder jumps and swings her swords down at him, but he flips out of the way so her attack gets aimed at Raven instead.

Raven draws another sword to meet her attack and Khazhak joins in again. The three race around the pathway at breath-taking speeds, Raven and Cinder's blades breaking each time they clash with Khazhak's. At one point, they both swing their blades at Khazhak, making him fall onto the pathway as the two maidens start to fight in mid-air. Khazhak looks up, seeing them break each other's blades again and again. They even end up grabbing their opponent's weapons and start attacking again as energy builds up around them, fire for Cinder and ice for Raven. The two eventually separate and Cinder uses her power to create a huge fire sword in her hands. Raven does the same, only she creates what looks to be a large odachi blade made out of ice. The two clash, sending out shockwaves that can be felt up on the surface. As they clash, Khazhak charges up more lightning in his left hand and jumps up towards them. They look to see him above them roaring as he smashes his left fist down on their blades. The collision shatters their blade as all three fall back down to the pathway, with Khahak in the center. He looks up to see a very large stalactite falling towards him and he charges up even more lightning into his left arm.

"APOCALYPTIC THUNDER DRAGON BURST!" Khazhak shouts a new technique as he throws his fist, smashing it into the stalactite and annihilating it.

As the dust begins to settle, Khazhak gets knocked to the side by Cinder's Grimm arm, nearly falling off the pathway as he hangs off the side by his left hand. Cinder's Grimm arm extends and grabs Raven by the neck, sending her crashing into the gate of the elevator. Cinder begins to slowly absorb Raven's Maiden power while creating another blade in her left hand. Seeing this, Khazhak manages to throw himself over the pathway and swings his sword down on Cinder's Grimm arm. Cinder has no choice but to release Raven and pull her arm back, lest she lose it. Raven looks up and smirks before she uses her power to freeze both Khazhak and Cinder's feet to the pathway. The two look at her, but then look up to see another large stalactite fall down on them. Raven jumps high into the air, landing on top of another falling stalactite. She looks down to see Cinder, using her flames to propel herself, into the air and towards Raven. Raven pulls out another blade as Cinder creates two and swings them down on Raven. Raven blocks with her swod and Cinder flips over her, landing behind her on the stalactite.

Before they can attack again, they feel the stalactite shake and look to see Khazhak break through the center of it with his left arm, and lightning around his blade. He swings it around, sending out Lightning Slash techniques at both of them. The two women jump into the air to evade them, landing on other falling debris in mid-air. Khazhak jumps after them, smashing his sword into the falling rock that Cinder was on before she jumps away. Cinder and Raven meet in mid-air, swinging their blades as they pass by one another. Khazhak jumps into the mix, swinging his sword at them as they zoom through the air. Eventually, Khazhak lands on one falling rock and sees Cinder launch herself at Raven who's on another. Cinder smashes the rock into smaller pieces, while Raven jumps away before making a counter attack. Khazhak joins in and the three clash their blades again before separating. Cinder lands on one stalactite and starts running while Raven gives chase. Another falling stalactite crashes into theirs, and Cinder jumps onto another falling rock. She fires off a fire bolt at Raven, who dodges it before kicking Cinder away as a large rock piece lands in between them. Khazhak comes in, propelling off said rock piece and swinging his blade at Cinder, destroying a sword she just made and landing behind her. Just then, Raven slices through the large rock piece and draws another sword as Cinder creates two more. Both Khazhak and Raven slide by Cinder, breaking both of her blades with their own. Raven makes a few swings at Cinder, who steps back to evade each before using her fire to propel herself away making Raven meet Khazhak as he swings his blade to break hers. Raven starts running with Khazhak and Cinder giving chase. Raven jumps and lands on another falling stalactite and rolls while throwing her sword in front of her while Cinder chases her, followed by Khazhak. Raven's blade stabs into the rock and Raven grabs the handle, using it to swing around and kick Cinder back. Khazhak grabs Cinder by her right angle, smashes her onto the rock and then throws her back, sending her crashing onto another falling stalactite. Khazhak then looks at Raven before looking down and then jumps up high into the air. Raven watches him go but then widens her eyes and looks down just in time to see the two stalactites crash onto the pathway. As the dust settles, Raven and Cinder's auras flicker from the heavy damage. Raven is the first to stand back up.

"Had enough yet?" Raven taunts her.

"S-Shut up!" Cinder yells, still on her knees and breathing raggedly.

"If you were stronger or more clever, then maybe... you'd remember to watch your back," Raven says, hands on her hips.

Cinder takes a few breaths before she gasps and looks behind her, only to see Khazhak land behind her and fire off a spark shot. Cinder swings her right hand to block it with some fire, but then Khazhak comes around and clamps his left hand down on her face.

"Cinder Fall. Final verdict... Guilty," Khazhak mutters before firing off a much stronger spark shot point-blank, destroying Cinder's mask and sending her over the edge of the pathway. As she falls, she sees Raven walk to the edge and use her power to freeze a shocked Cinder frozen solid before she plummets into the dark abyss below. Raven breathes a slight sigh of relief. "Well, that's one down," she hears and turns to face Khazhak again. "Now it's just you and me, Raven," Khazhak notes.

"Still think you can beat me, Khazhak?" Raven taunts him as she draws another blade.

"I'm willing to give it another shot," Khazhak says before charging lightning into his blade again. However, he keeps charging it until both glowing sections on his sword's hilt glow brighter. "I've been saving this just for you," he says and then holds his blade in front of him, grabbing the hilt with his left hand. He then pulls the handle and the hilt apart, revealing a smaller, dark blue blade within the original, similar to an odachi blade, with lightning coursing around it. After fully drawing out the new sword, Khazhak drops the original by his feet and aims the new blade at Raven. "Now then, I hope you have enough blades to face my own, Raven" Khazhak says.

Raven readies her own blade, "Looks like it's time for your final lesson, my apprentice," she says.

"No Raven, this time, I'm going to teach you a lesson, my master," Khazhak retorts.

The two remain idle for a moment before charging at each other again. Raven notices how Khazhak's attacks are suddenly much faster and stronger, easily breaking through her first blade. She pulls out another and swings it upwards, but Khazhak leans back to evade it and brings down his blade. Raven tries to block it, only to watch it break like the last one. Raven goes to draw another, only for Khazhak to plant his foot down on the handle on the sheathe, stopping her action. He then kicks her in the face, knocking her back. Raven draws her sword again and jumps back in, swinging it at his side. Khazhak twirls his sword around, shattering her blade and then spins around to swing his blade at her legs. Raven jumps over him, drawing another blade, but Khazhak back-kicks her away as she lands behind him. Raven spins around as Khazhak does the same, drawing a blade to swing at his. But Khazhak's blade destroys it again. Raven draws another, but Khazhak grabs her wrist in his left hand, and then head-butts her in the face. Khazhak raises his sword up high in his hands, while Raven draws another blade. Lightning surges around Khazhak's blade as he swings it down. Raven meets the attack with her own, but her blade breaks again. This time, Raven creates another ice odachi with her power and swings it at Khazhak, but he blocks with his blade. The two push against each other, but lightning builds up around Khazhak before he roars and an explosion of lightning occurs around him, making Raven stagger back. Raven looks up, just in time to see Khazhak throw a left punch at her stomach, sending her flying to the ground. Raven gets up on one knee and looks to see Khazhak raise his sword up in the air again.

"This is the end for you... my master," Khazhak mutters, however.

 **"Time's up,"** Bahamut says, and Khazhak's power deactivates.

Khazhak feels the pain come on, only this time it's worse as he pukes out blood this time and falls onto his hands and knees, his strength leaving him.

"Not... not again. Not now," Khazhak mutters through gritted teeth.

 **"I'm sorry, but you've reached your limit. You took too long,"** Bahamut says.

Raven is a little perplexed by the scene, but smirks as she rises to her feet and approaches him.

"Well, well, you actually had me on the ropes there for a second. But, it seems you still haven't mastered your power yet, Khazhak. While I've had years to master mine," Raven says as she stands before him, and pulls out another blade. "My last Dust blade. To think you actually forced me to down to my last blade, though you did have a little help from Cinder. So, last chance Khazhak: will you join me, or die?" she asks.

In one last act of defiance, Khazhak spits on her boots, "You can go blow yourself, Raven. I serve no one but Ruby," he says defiantly.

Raven sighs, "Very well. Farewell... my apprentice," she says and raises her sword to finish him off.

However, she hears something behind her and looks to see Yang appear, landing on one knee before rising to glare at her in the eye.

"Yang..." Khazhak mutters.

The time has come for Yang to confront her mother, once and for all.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Woo, that felt like it took forever. The Battle for Haven is reaching its, and now all of the members of both Team KEPL and Team RWBY have appeared. Khazhak defeats Cinder, but is now at the mercy of Raven, until Yang's timely arrival. The next chapter will be the volume 5 finale, and the next few after that will be a couple filler chapter. Will Yang be able to stop Raven from claiming the Relic? Will Ruby's group finally defeat Cinder's forces. Until then, please Read and Review.**


	94. Chapter 89: Haven's Fate

**Here we are at Chapter 89. Time for the Volume 5 finale, and to see how the battle for Haven will end. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 89 and the Volume 5 finale. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 89: Haven's Fate**

At Haven Academy, the battle continues ferociously. Outside the building where Ruby's group is, Blake and her allies continue to battle the White Fang. Some find themselves surrounded by the combined forces of both the Faunus of Menagerie and the Mistral Police Force, and surrender. Those that continue to resist are quickly subdued. In the center of it all, Porphyrius continues his duel with Adam Taurus. Adam makes a hard right swing from his sheath, but Porphryius twirls over the swing and throws a right uppercut with his gauntlet that Adam blocks with his blade. Porphyrius aims his rifles and fires off a few gravity shots at Adam. Adam swings his blade to block them and is somehow able to absorb the energy from them, making them dissipate before they can do their job. Porphyrius is surprised by this, but only for a second before he gets right back into the thick of it. Porphyrius throws a series of hooks at Adam, who steps back and blocks some of them. Porphyrius then throws a backflip kick into his face, staggering Adam. Adam's hair and sword glow red before he swings it down, sending out a blast of red energy at Porphyrius. Purple flames erupt from Porphyrius' eyepatch and he smashes both of his gauntlets to the ground as the blast reaches him The shockwave stops Adam's attack, but it makes Porphyrius slide back from the attack. Adam runs through the smoke and fires off a few hots from his sheathe. Porphyrius blocks them with his gauntlets, and then Adam jumps into the air with his sword reeled back. He swings it down to strike him down, but Porphyrius blocks with his weapon.

"You may have gotten the drop on me back at Beacon, but you won't get away this time, abomination," Adam taunts him.

"Oh, shut up," Porphyrius blows him off before he uses his semblance to blow Adam back and then roundhouse kicks him in the face to the ground.

Adam gets back on his feet and sees Blake standing before him.

"I'm going to make you regret ever coming back," Adam warns her.

"More police are on the way, Adam. Huntsmen too," Blake says.

Adam chuckles, "Still too afraid to face me on your own," Adam says.

"I'm here for Haven, not you," Blake replies. Adam growls and aims his sheathe gun at her, but Porphyrius lands in between them and aims his rifles at him. "I don't know what's more pathetic: the fact that you are still afraid to fight me alone, or that you rely on that accursed 'THING' there to help you battle," Adam says.

"What's wrong with fighting for your friends?" he hears and looks to his left to see Sun approach them. "After all, fighting together is better than fighting alone," Sun says, twirling his staff around.

Adam aims his sword at him, "Tell me, does Blake make all of her classmates fight for her?" he asks.

"Nah, it's a volunteer gig. I feel bad for you though, seeing as how you've got no one fighting for you," Sun notes.

Adam looks around, seeing the rest of his forces surrendering to the Faunus of Menagerie and the police.

"You can try and make me regret coming back here, Adam..." Blake says as he looks back at her. "But honestly... I've got more important things to deal with," she completely blows him off.

Adam yells and swings his sword at Sun. Sun bats it away and starts swinging his nun-chucks around as he fires his guns back at him. Adam twirls his sword around to block the shots, but then Porphyrius comes in and spin kicks his sheathe gun out of the way before throwing a right punch to his face. Blake runs around him and swings her sword, which he blocks, only for Sun to join in and smack him with his staff, followed by Porphyrius doing a jump kick to his chest. Seeing that he is outnumbered, Adam makes a run for it into the nearby trees. Sun gives chase, but Blake stops him.

"Sun, wait!" Blake says.

Sun turns to her, "But he's getting away! We can take him!" Sun retorts.

Porphyrius joins them, "Believe me, no one wants to take him down more than me, but he's not why we came here. Our goal is to protect Haven and the people here. We can deal with Adam another time," he says.

"Porphyrius is right. Besides, now he can see what it feels like to run away," Blake says and then smiles at them. "Thanks, you guys," she says.

"Eh, we all need help sometimes," Sun says, but then they hear faint fighting sounds in the nearby building. "I think there's a few people who can use your help," he notes.

Blake and Porphyrius nod and the three separate, with Sun going to help the other Faunus while Porphyrius and Blake run to the building. Inside, Ruby's group continue to fight against Cinder's allies. Ren and Nora stand in front of Voshkie'ahk, whos' leaning up against a pillar, still weak from using the Dragon Spirit. Jaune steps in front of them to block some incoming bullets with his shield.

"You guys okay?" Jaune asks.

Ren coughs, "... We're... surviving," he says.

Nora sighs, "I don't know how that big guy is still standing. He recharges his aura faster than I've ever seen," she says.

"If only I... could still fight..." Voshkie'ahk breathes.

Lloyd jumps back before Hazel can smash him into the ground and fires off a few shots at him. Hazel blocks with his arms, but then Reaper comes in from behind and swings his red scythe at his back. Hazel roars and swings his arms around to punch him into the ground, but Reaper jumps away. However, Hazel is right on him and throws a left hook that knocks him to the side. He rolls on the ground back to his feet as Qrow flies in s a crow, changing back to normal as he flies behind a pillar.

"He's sheer willpower," Qrow notes.

Lionheart fires off another shots at Ozpn, but Lloyd gets in the way and blocks with his semblance.

"Does he ever run out of energy?" Llloyd asks.

"We just need to get him to his limit. Then, he won't be able to fight," Ozpin replies.

"Okay, and when will that happen?!" Lloyd yells before jumping back when Hazel tries to smash him again.

Reaper throws his scythe into the air it spinning around as it flies in towards Hazel. However, Hazel fires off a combined attack of fire and lightning at the weapon making it disintegrate. Reaper and Weiss appear shocked, but just then, Blake appears in the air, coming to kick Hazel in the face and then landing next to Ruby and Weiss. Mercury and Emerald are surprised, but then look behind them to see Porphyrius running in.

"Dark Void Xenodriver!" Porphyrius yells as he jumps and drills through them with his technique, coming to slide up next to Reaper and Lloyd.

"Took you long enough to get here!" Lloyd notes.

"Sorry, traffic," Porphyrius jokes, but then notices Reaper without his mask. "Where's your mask?" he asks.

Reaper smirks, "Don't need it. I can breathe on my own now. I'll explain later," he says.

Porphyrius shrugs his shoulders, "Works for me," he says.

Meanwhile, Blake looks to her friends, "Are you guys okay?" she asks.

"N-no, I just remember you being more of the quiet one," Weiss stammers.

Blake activates her katana, "Not today," she says.

Weiss readies her rapier, "Okay, so what's the plan Ruby?" she asks her leader.

Ruby thinks and looks to see Lionheart aim his weapon at them, however, a shot hits him in the arm and takes out the rest of his aura. He looks to see Porphyrius with his left rifle aimed at him, while being surrounded by him, Lloyd, and Reaper who takes out his scythes.

"So, anyone want to tell me what's going on?" Porphyrius ask.

"This guy is the headmaster of Haven. However, he betrayed us and sold us out to Cinder. He lured us into a trap so he could have us killed and save his own neck," Reaper explains.

Porphyrius narrows his eye at him, "Is that right?" he mutters

Voshkie'ahk slowly stands back up and joins him, holding her side as she stands near Lloyd, "Ozpin trusted you. We all did, including your own students, and you betrayed us all just so you could keep living. You're a disgrace as a huntsman, as a teacher and headmaster, and as a person," she voices her disgust with him.

"Please, you must understand. I was only trying to-," Lionheart tries to beg for his life, only for Reaper to come up behind him and stab his right scythe blade through his chest, making him gasp in shock.

"You live like a coward," Reaper notes.

Lloyd then comes in, stabbing his claws into Lionheart's chest, "You die like coward," Lloyd finishes.

They both rip their blades out of Lionheart. Lionheart falls onto his knees and takes one last breath before he falls to the ground, dead. The members of Teams RWBY and JNPR are a little disturbed by this, but understand since Lionheart tried to have him killed. Not to mention all of the huntsmen and huntresses he let Salem kill. He had it coming.

"Oh, well that's just great," Mercury notes at the scene before he and Emerald look to Hazel as he roars to the ceiling, ready for the next round.

However, a shot rings out and hits him in the chest, looking to see Lloyd as the culprit with his right gauntlet aimed at him.

"You guys deal with Cinder's lackeys. We'll deal with tall, big, and ugly here," Lloyd says to Ruby.

"Alright then. Blake, Weiss, checkmate," Ruby says and the three girls charge at Mercury and Emerald.

"Heavy metal!" Lloyd says as he, Porphyrius, and Reaper go after Hazel.

Back down in the vault, Yang confronts Raven, but quickly sees Khazhak on the ground, wounded.

"Khazhak!" Yang yells and runs to him. Raven steps back as she kneels to check on him and walks around them to stand a few feet behind Khazhak. "Are you okay?! What happened?" Yang asks.

"Vernal is dead... Cinder is gone... But, Raven... Raven is the Spring Maiden, Yang. She... always was," Khazhak says as he does his best to stay awake, with little success.

Yang stares at him before a moment before nodding and stands up back, walking around him to face Raven.

"I warned you Yang. I gave you every opportunity to walk away from Qrow and Ozpin. So, you can believe me when I say this wasn't personal," Raven says.

"If you're the Spring Maiden, then you were going to open the vault, then," Yang says.

Raven sighs, "Yes, while you and your friends took care of things up top. I knew you could handle it. You are my daughter after all. And while he is a fool, I knew Khazhak would be alright, since he is my apprentice," Raven says.

"The other girl. She must've trusted you a lot. Cared about you even. Ozpin and Qrow told me how the Maiden's power works," Yang says.

Raven turns her back to her, "I'm sure they told you plenty, and you just sat and obeyed," she says.

"No. I'm starting to ask questions like you said. So, I'm asking: what happened to the last Spring Maiden? Did she die in battle? Was it sickness?" Yang asks.

Raven turns back to her, "What's it matter to you?" she asks dismissively.

Yang's eyes widen a bit, "I can already see the answer. It's written all over your face. How could you?!" Yang yells as she realizes how the last Spring Maiden died.

Raven killed her.

Raven holds her arms together, "She was scared when we found her. WEAK. No matter how much training I put her through, she never learned. She wasn't cut out for this world, and with those powers, she would've been hunted her entire life. What I did-," Raven begins.

"Wasn't personal," Yang stops her, narrowing her eyes.

"It was MERCY!" Raven retorts.

"Which is it, Mom? Are you merciful? Or are you a survivor? Did you let Khazhak and I walk into that trap because you knew we could handle it, or because it meant you could get what you wanted?!" Yang argues as she starts to walk around Raven.

"It's not that simple. You don't know me. You don't know the things I've seen, the choices I've had to make," Raven argues back.

"You're right. I don't know you. I only know the Raven that Dad told me about. How she was troubled, and complicated, but she fought for what she believed in, whether it was her team or her tribe... Did you kill 'her' too?" Yang questions her.

Raven looks away for a second before turning back, her powers flaring in her eyes, "I've stared death in the face over and over again, and every time I've spat in that face and survived, it's because I'm strong enough to do what others won't!" Raven yells.

"Oh, shut up!" Yang retorts, surprising Raven. "You don't know the first thing about strength. You turn your back on people. You try to hurt others who won't do what you want them to do. You run away when things get too hard. You put others in harm's way instead of yourself..." Yang retorts, her left fist shaking a bit as she clenches it. "You maybe be powerful... But that doesn't make you strong," Yang tells her, pointing a finger at her.

"She's right... Raven," Khazhak suddenly says as they look back to him, seeing him slowly rise back to his feet, having already retrieved his main blade and sheathing it over his blue blade, using the weapon as a crutch and leaning against it. Khazhak slowly limps his way over to them, "When you learned the truth about the Relics, the Maidens, and Salem, you ran. Not because you were strong, but because you were AFRAID. Rather than stand and fight, you ran. That doesn't make you strong, or a survivor. It just makes you a COWARD," Khazhak says as he stands next to Yang.

"WHO DO YOU TWO THINK YOU ARE, LECTURING ME! You, Yang, standing there, shaking, like a scared little girl. Or you Khazhak, you can barely stand on your own two feet!" Raven seethes.

"Yeah, I'm scared, but I'm still standing here!" Yang retorts, standing her ground.

"And I may be weak right now, but even still, I won't run. I will fight to the bitter end, no matter the cost," Khazhak adds as he straightens up a bit.

Yang steps up, "We're not like you. We won't run. Which is why you are going to open the vault, and give us the Relic," Yang says.

"And why would I-," Raven begins.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE AFRAID OF SALEM! And if you thought having Maiden powers put a target on your back, wait until she finds out you have a Relic," Yang says. Raven looks away, fearful at the thought. "She'll come after you with everything she has... Or, she can come after us," Yang says.

"And we will wait for her. And we will fight," Khazhak says.

"Now OPEN the vault," Yang demands.

Though Raven would rather not do it, the thought of Salem coming after her because she has a Relic gives her the chills. With no other choice, Raven turns around and walks up to the vault doors, pausing a moment to close Vernal's eyes so she may rest. She then slowly places her hand on the door. A moment later, the fan structures that make up the door fold back and open up, revealing the gateway to the Relic of Knowledge. Raven then turns around as Yang steps closer to her.

"You don't want to do this Yang," Raven says softly, her powers deactivating.

Yang shakes her head, "Nope. But I'm going to do it anyway," Yang says and walks past her, knocking her shoulder into Raven purposely to move her aside.

Raven watches her step closer to the vault before she stops. Raven holds her left arm.

"I... I'm sorry," Raven apologizes as tears begin to fall from her eyes.

Yang tears up a bit as well, "Yeah... Me too," she replies.

Khazhak stands next to Raven, "You know it's ironic. All this time, All I've wanted was to beat you, to become stronger than you. And in the end... I was ALWAYS stronger than you. Because I won't run from the fight. Because I will never give up, and I will never stop protecting the innocent. But most of all... because I will NEVER abandon my family," Khazhak says as he looks her in the eye for a moment and then walks past her.

Raven hangs her head in shame before she creates one of her portals. Yang and Khazhak looks back to see her already gone, leaving nothing but a single black feather that falls to the floor. Khazhak and Yang look back to the gateway before looking at each other.

"Go," Khazhak says, nodding his head to the Relic, confusing Yang. "You defeated Raven today, not me. The Relic of Knowledge is yours to claim," Khazhak says.

Yang stares at him for a moment before walking through the gateway, finding herself in some kind of desert dimension of sorts. Yang slowly walks up to the Relic, finding it to be a golden lantern of sorts that's glowing blue in a few sections. She picks up the Relic before finally falling onto her knees, crying because her mother had abandoned her again. Khazhak simply watches her vent her pain before looking back up to the ceiling.

 **"And so the Relic is ours,"** Bahamut says.

"Yes. However, I hope the others are doing okay," Khazhak mutters.

Back up top, the fighting continues between Ruby's allies and Cinder's forces. Ruby fires off her scythe at Mercury, who jumps into the air to dodge them, but gets kicked off to the side by Blake. Emerald aims her pistols at the, but Weiss gets in the way by thrusting her rapier at her pistols, and then stabs it into the ground, creating several ice pillars at her. Emerald steps back to avoid them, but Ruby uses her semblance to zoom around Emerald, carrying her into the air, and then firing off a shot that sends her to the ground. Meanwhile, Lloyd crosses his arms with his semblance active to block Hazel's arms as he smashes them down on him. This gives Porphyrius the chance to jump over Lloyd and throw a right gravity punch to his face, staggering him a bit. Lloyd comes in and throws a double steel uppercut to his stomach, sending him into the air. Reaper then fires off a knife from one of his scythes, wrapping it around Hazel's body, and then swings him downward into the ground. Lloyd jumps high into the air, encasing his legs in steel. Porphyrius activates his semblance on Lloyd, and makes him fall incredibly fast to the ground, crashing down on Hazel and cracking the ground before jumping off of him. With the others, Emerald fires off her pistols again at Ruby, who swings her scythe around to block them. However, a fire Dust card comes out of nowhere and nails Emerald in the side. She looks to see Voshke'ahk with her right arm out, leaning up against a pillar for support. Emerald growls, but then Ruby comes in and swing her scythe at her, knocking her near Hazel, followed by Mercury who gets taken down by Blake and Weiss. Both sides regroup, preparing to fight again. Team JNPR, a weakened Qrow, Ozpin, and Voshkie'ahk stand off to the side behind Ruby's group and Khazhak's teammates.

"That's enough. You're beaten. Just give it up," Ruby tells them.

"It's over. The White Fang is down, Lionheart is dead, and you're all running on empty. You've lost," Lloyd adds.

Mercury growls and slams his fist on the ground.

"It's not over. Cinder will come back. She'll have the Relic, and she'll stop all of you," Emerald retorts. "...She has to... She won't let us down," she adds.

Just then, the elevator for the vault comes back up, only Cinder isn't on it. Instead, it's Yang and Khazhak that come up, with Yang holding the Relic. Emerald is shocked to see that Cinder did not come back. Yang and Khazhak look to their friends.

"Yang... Khazhak," Ruby mutters in relief.

Yang glances at Blake, who smiles back at her. Emerald starts to cry and falls onto her hands and knees, waves of emotions falling over her. Seeing that have indeed lost this battle, Mercury and Hazel start to back up.

"Emerald, get up. We need to go," Mercury says. Emerald doesn't listen as she starts looking around frantically. "Emerald!" Mercury adds.

Emerald holds her head, breathing rapidly, before she screams as she activates her semblance on nearly everyone in the room. Just then, a large black mass starts rising up from the floor. The figure than takes a form of a larger version of Salem, who suddenly screams before flying at everyone before everything goes black. A second later, the illusion is gone as everyone looks on, finding themselves alright. Scared and shaking in fear, but alright. However, Emerald, Mercury, and Hazel have vanished, most likely fled in all the confusion.

"Wh-what was that?" Blake asks fearfully.

"I've never seen anthing like that before," Reaper adds.

"That was an illusion, albeit an accurate one," Ozpin says as they look at him. "That... was Salem," he says.

After a few moments pass, everyone breathes a sigh of relief. The battles is over. Haven is safe. The good guys win. Blake feels relieved after the hard-fought battle and sees her parents and Sun run into the building. She has a loving hug with her parents with Sun by their side.

"The police have rounded up the remaining White Fang members. Haven is safe," Kali says.

"Unfortunately, it appears that Adam Taurus has escaped," Ghira adds.

"It's okay," they hear and look to see Ilia enter the building. "He's the only one to escape tonight. The White Fang won't follow a leader who abandons his people. He won't have their help after this, or anyone at all. And because of that, the White Fang will be left divided and leaderless," Ilia says as she joins them.

"We've been fighting amongst ourselves for too long. Maybe... it's time for a new brotherhood. One truly dedicated towards creating a better world," Ghira says.

"And they'll need a new leader," Kali says, gesturing to him.

Sun then looks back and waves to the others before walking around and grabbing Blake with his tail, pulling her around to see her teammates. Blake takes a moment before walking towards them while they watch. Meanwhile, Yang and Khazhak slowly walk down the stairs, Khazhak still weak from his battle. Yang hands the lamp to Qrow.

"What happened down there? You okay, Khazhak?" Qrow asks.

Khazhak holds his side, "I'll live. I fought against Cinder and Raven to prevent them from getting the Relic. The vault... was already opened by the time I got there, though they didn't have the Relic just yet, and Vernal was dead. By the time Yang arrived, Cinder was defeated... and Raven was gone..." Khazhak says, glancing at Yang who gives a subtle nod, deciding to keep their conversation with Raven in the vault to themselves for now.

"Well, we're glad you're still here, firecracker. You too, Khazhak," Qrow says, placing a supportive hand on Yang's shoulder.

Just then, Ruby falls onto her knees, exhausted from the battle. Weiss comes down to check on her.

"Are you okay?!" Weiss asks, worried.

Ruby sighs, but smiles, "I feel like I should be asking you guys," she says as Blake joins them. Yang comes down and sits next to Ruby. "So, Blake, you're back huh, just like Khazhak said you would," she says.

"Yeah, Porphyrius told me about you guys being here, but it's still... amazing to see it for myself. I feel like I should ask what happened," Blake replies.

Ruby looks to Yang and Weiss before looking back at Blake, "That's... a long story," she notes.

"Well... I'm not going anywhere," Blake says.

"That's all that matters. Heh, that we're all here together again. Right?" Ruby asks, as she, Weiss, and Blake look to Yang.

Yang stares at Blake, who glances away in slight shame. However, Yang eventually smiles and nods her head.

"Yeah," Yang says, happy that Blake is back.

Blake smiles back as Weiss holds out an arm for her. Blake joins them and they all have a heartwarming embrace. Team RWBY is back together again. Team JNPR watch on, happy at their reunion. Khazhak walks by them to join up with his own teammates.

"Khazhak, you look like crap," Porphyrius notes.

Khazhak chuckles, "It's a long story. But still, glad you didn't miss the party Porphyrius," he says.

"I wasn't gonna let you guys have all the fun," Porphyrius replies.

Khazhak then looks to all of them," Team KEPL, well done on completing your missions. And welcome back, my comrades... No... My BROTHERS," Khazhak says as he holds out his left fist before them.

They all smile, "We're a team. We always fight together," Reaper says as he joins his fist with Khazhak's.

"We're family, right brother," Lloyd adds, doing the same.

"And family always sticks together," Porphyrius says, bringing all of their fists together.

Voshkie'ahk watches from the side before having a sad look on her face.

"Voshkie," Khazhak says, getting her attention. "You better join in on this as well. You're as much a part of this family as any one of us," Khazhak says.

Voshkie'ahk smiles and joins them, placing her hand on top of their fists. They separate and see the members of Team RWBY walking up to them. Blake and Lloyd bump fists, happy to see each other again. Yang walks up to Porphyrius.

"Yang, I-," Porphyrius begins before Yang suddenly punches him in the face, knocking him to the ground. "Ow, what?!" he yells.

"That was for leaving without saying anything," Yang says while putting her right arm back on. She then picks him back up and punches him in the gut. "That was for not being there for me in Patch..." Yang adds, and then reels her right fist back. Porphyrius closes his eye, expecting another punch, but is shocked when he feels a pair of lips on his and looks to see Yang kissing him. A moment later, she separates from him, leaving him jaw-struck. "And that's for caring about me so much. Thank you, Porphyrius," she says.

"All I could think about...was getting back to you, Yang. I'm sorry for taking so long," Porphyrius apologizes.

Yang kisses him again, "You can make it up to me. You still owe me a date," she says, making him smile and blush.

Weiss smiles at the scene, but then notices Reaper next to her, and remembers what she said to him earlier, and blushes from the memory.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you're alright, and that you can breathe normally again. Looks like I won't lose any sleep now," Weiss says.

Reaper chuckles, "Heh-heh-heh, well that's good. However, there's one thing though..." he trails off.

"What's-," Weiss begins before Reaper takes her hands into his own.

"It's that I heard what you said earlier, and I love you too, Weiss," Reaper says.

Weiss blushes before smiling at him and kisses his cheek, making him smile back.

Khazhak watches them all have their moments and then turns to Ruby, "I told you. I like to be a man of my word," he says.

Ruby giggles, "Yeah, you are," she says. Khazhak suddenly falls onto his knees, but Ruby quickly catches him. "Khazhak are you okay?!" she asks, worried.

"Yeah... I'm fine... Just tired... now that everything is over..." Khazhak replies, the exhaustion of the fight washing over him now that the battle is finally over.

The others gather around them, "You uses your power again, didn't you Khazhak," Ruby asks, and Khazhak can only give a slight nod in reply. "Okay, well, get some rest. You've earned it, and that's an order," she says, confusing some members of the group by what she said. Khazhak finally lets rest overcome him and he passes out. Ruby smiles and kisses his forehead, "Get some rest, Khazhak. Sleep well," she says, holding his head to her chest as she rests her own head on his.

Meanwhile, Qrow goes to check on Ozpin, who's on the ground on his knees, breathing heavily.

"Well Oz, I don't know how we did it, but we won," Qrow says. "You okay?" he asks.

"I'm alright," Oscar says, revealing that he has control of his body again.

"Kid?" Qrow asks, confused.

"He's resting... Too much energy fighting..." Oscar explains, still breathing heavily.

"Well, hey, listen, don't strain yourself," Qrow says, a little worried for Oscar.

"No! He said to bring a message... We need to... get the lamp to... Atlas," Oscar says before finally passing out.

Qrow catches him and gently lays him on the floor so he can rest. Qrow stands back up, looking at everyone else, and then raises the lamp to stare at it. The lamp starts glowing, and Qrow eventually sighs.

…

In Salem's domain, Salem is in her main meeting room, sitting in her chair, staring at a Seer Grimm. Just then, the doors to the room open, and a figure in a black cloak enters the room, a hood up to cover most of their face.

"You did well with helping to prepare things for Vacuo. With your aid, when the time comes, claiming the Relic at Shade should go a little more smoothly. However, Cinder has failed to claim the Relic of Knowledge at Haven. Khazhak Rairyu has gotten stronger with the Dragon Spirit. He must not be allowed to master it. You failed to take care of him in the past when i sent you to destroy him and his family. Can I be sure that you'll handle it this time?" Salem asks.

The figure chuckles, "Of course..." a male voice rings out. "I can deal with him. I know Khazhak better than anyone. After all... we're family," he says, showing an evil smirk.

…

Meanwhile, in Khazhak's mind, Khazhak speaks with Khazhak.

 **"Are you sure you want to do this?"** Bahamut asks.

"Yes. I have waited MO NTHS for this day. I couldn't do anything until all the pieces were in place, and now they are. After things have calmed down a bit, I will make my move. Weiss, Blake, and Yang abandoned Ruby back in Vale. They've committed the most grievous of sins and have yet to pay the price for it. I am the Storm of Judgment. They must understand that every choice has a cost. The time has come for Weiss, Blake, and Yang to face... my... JUDGMENT," Khazhak says, his right eye glowing red.

 _...To be continued..._

* * *

 **And that's the chapter, and the Volume 5 finale. Finally got to this point in the story. The next couple of chapters will be filler chapters, and yes, one of them will be a Voshkie'ahk character short which I already had planned out. Haven has been saved, and Khazhak's group have the Relic of Knowledge. What's more, Teams KEPL and RWBY are now finally reunited. But it seems their struggles are far from over as now they must begin the venture to Atlas. Who is this new player that will be coming after Khazhak? What does Khazhak plan to do with Weiss, Blake, and Yang? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	95. Chapter 90: Festival

**Here we are at Chapter 90. A little filler chapter with some stuff that some of you guys have been asking for, and that I wanted to do. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 90. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 90: Festival**

It has been a couple of days since the battle for Haven and things are finally starting to calm down in Mistral. After the White Fang was stopped from destroying Haven's CCT tower, the Faunus of Menagerie began returning to Menagerie with Kali leading them back. Ghira and Blake stayed behind to finish cleaning up the mess and speaking with the authorities. News of Lionheart's death reached his staff and his students, though the details about his demise and his connection to Salem were kept under wraps. Luckily, with all of the chaos, no one was really digging to learn everything about it. At the house, Blake has already been informed about the situation with Salem and the Relics, along with Porphyrius. Khazhak is still somewhat weak from using his power, but is at least up and moving again, though Ruby makes sure that someone is nearby in case he has any issues. At the house, Ruby and Khazhak's group rest and go over what to do next now that they have the Relic of Knowledge in their possession.

"We're taking the Relic to Atlas?" Ruby asks.

"Yes. Right now, Atlas is the safest place to take the Relic. General Ironwood may have closed the kingdom's borders and recalled his forces, but he didn't recall all of them. At the northernmost part of Anima is a town called Argus. It serves as a connection point between Mistral and Atlas. There's a military base there, and there's no way they would leave that place unguarded. So, in a few days, we'll take a train to Argus and, if we play our cards right, we can get a ride right to Atlas. We'll figure out what to do next after that when we speak with Ironwood. So, what do you guys think?" Qrow explains.

Lloyd crosses his arms, "Well, I'm not exactly loving this idea about going to that Hell hole," he says.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Lloyd. After all of the trouble I went through to get out of Atlas, we now have to go back. Makes everything I did to get here be for nothing," Weiss adds.

"Don't worry Weiss. It wasn't all for nothing, because we're together again. And we won't leave you. We'll do this together," Ruby says, holding a hand on Weiss' for support.

Weiss smiles, "Thank you, Ruby," she says.

"Okay, so what do we do for now until it's time to leave?" Porphyrius asks.

"Well, the next train to Argus won't be ready for at least a week. They're still cleaning up the mess at Mistral right now. Luckily, with things still tense right now, and having already kicked their butts, Salem's forces won't try anything... for now at least. For now, let's just... hey, has anyone seen Voshkie'ahk?" Qrow asks, noticing his apprentice missing from the group.

Everyone looks around, but then hear some noise and look back to see Voshkie'ahk enter the room, along with Yukari who absolutely refuses to separate herself from her girlfriend.

"Oh, my darling. I was so worried when I heard about the attack on Haven. While, of course I know you can handle yourself, but it still doesn't ease my worries sometimes. I was about ready to buy soe rocket launchers and go fight the White Fang myself if it meant protecting you," Yukari says, arms wrapped around Voshkie'ahk as she rubs her cheek against her girlfriend's.

"Yukari, please, I'm fine. I was only exhausted from the fight, but I'm better now," Voshkie'ahk says.

Yukari only tightens her hold, "No, it's your fault for making me worry, my little dragon goddess," Yukari says, kissing Voshkie'ahk multiple times on the cheek.

 **"I think we may need to call the police on her,"** Tiamat notes.

Qrow groans, "Hopefully, that train gets here sooner than later," he mutters.

Yukari looks to the group, "So, what are you guys talking about?" she asks.

Blake stares at them, a few thoughts swirling in her mind, _"I never thought that Khazhak's sister was actually still alive. I'm sure he was happy about that. But, I'm also more surprised by her liking girls more than guys, and even that Yukari Hakucho is her girlfriend. Reminds me of volume 2 of Ninjas of Love,"_ she thinks.

"Well, we were wondering about what to do since we'll still be here for a few more days at least," Ruby says.

"Ooh, if you're looking for something to do, there's a festival starting later this evening. The people thought it would be a good idea after thwarting a second Fall of Beacon incident by the White Fang. There's going to be food, and games, and a bunch of other stuff. I was actually planning on taking Voshkie'ahk and heading there myself," Yukari suggests.

"Wait, when were you planning on asking me about this?" Voshkie'ahk asks. Yukari just glances away with a nervous chuckle. "You weren't going to ask me. You were going to drag me there, weren't you?" she accuses her.

"Now, I wouldn't do something like that... maybe," Yukari says, making Voshkie'ahk give her a deadpan look.

"A festival huh? That actually sounds like fun," Ruby notes with glee.

"I wouldn't mind going," Jaune adds.

"Hey, if it means food, then I'm in," Lloyd says,

"Well..." Porphyrius mutters as he glances at Yang who glances back at him with a wink. "I guess it could be fun," he says.

"Then I guess it's settled. We'll all go to the festival, right Khazhak?" Ruby says.

Khazhak looks at her and gets the image of seeing her in a yukata, and quickly blushes from the image.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Khazhak says.

 **"Again, she has you wrapped around her finger,"** Bahamut notes.

 _"And again, shut up,"_ Khazhak retorts.

"Then, let's go to the festival!" Nora cheers.

"Hold on, you can't go to a Mistralian festival without the proper attire," Yukari says.

"But... we don't have anything else than what we got now," Ruby says.

Yukari just smiles at them.

…

Later that evening, the members of Team KEPL are out by the park where part of the festival is situated. Each of them have opted (more like Yukari forced them) to were something else for the festival. Each one of them are wearing a hakama in either black or gray, while they have on an uwagi in their respective colors. The only main difference is that Khazhak's has the left sleeve of his uwagi ripped off for his prosthetic left arm. Alongside them are Sun and Oscar, with Sun wearing a hakama, and his usual white unbuttoned shirt, while Oscar is wearing an uwagi and a hakama of different shades of green.

"So, anyone else feel weird in these things?" Lloyd asks, tugging his uwagi a bit.

Khazhak sighs, "I feel like an idiot wearing this stupid thing. There was no reason for Yukari to flip out after I modified it for my arm," he notes.

"Well, she did go through a bit of trouble to get us all something to wear," Reaper says.

"I'd rather be back at the house, sleeping or something," Porphyrius adds.

"I don't know how I should act with something like this on," Oscar notes about his attire.

"Come on guys, no need to feel all down about this. It's a festival!" Sun cheers.

"Hey, we finally found you guys!" they hear and turn around, only to freeze in their tracks.

Standing before them are the members of Team RWBY, each in a very stylish kimono. Ruby is wearing a red kimono with silver rose petals throughout the clothing, the cherry blossom petals Khazhak gave her still in her her. Weiss is wearing a light blue kimono with white snowflakes on it and a white flower in her hair, Blake has on a black kimono with purple flower petals, and Yang has on a yellow kimono with orange sunflowers on it.

"So, what do you guys think?" Yang says, winking at them.

"I think I need my boots and my hood back, "Ruby notes, having a little trouble walking in her Mistralian sandals (think the ones that people in East Asia would wear). Ruby almost falls over, only for Khazhak to catch her in time. "Oh, thanks Khazhak," she says, blushing a bit.

"Um, no problem," Khazhak replies with a blush of his own.

Weiss walks up to Reaper, "You look... nice," she notes, looking him up and down.

Reaper coughs a bit, "And you look, um, you look... I'm making a fool of myself right now, am I?" he concedes.

Weiss giggles, "Oh, thanks for the compliment. You'll be fine," she says.

"I gotta say, Yukari sure has a great sense of style," Yang notes, twirling around in her kimono a bit and then winks at Porphyrius. "Wouldn't you agree, Porphyrius?" she teases him.

"Um...Uh...Um..." Porphyrius stutters, blushing madly.

"Oh, you're sweet," Yang replies as she walks up and kisses him on the cheek.

"You could've worn a uwagi, you know," Blake notes to Sun.

"Eh, not my style. You're looking good though," Sun replies.

"Thank you," Blake says with a slight blush.

"Hey, anyone seen the others?" Ruby asks.

"Well, knowing Team JNPR, I bet Nora is trying to eat all of the food here, and Ren and Jaune are making sure they all don't get kicked out. As for Qrow, probably off drinking somewhere. And as for Yukari and Voshkie'ahk-," Lloyd says.

"There you are. I must admit, you all look dashing in my designs," they hear and look to see Voshkie'ahk with Yukari.

Voshkie'ahk is wearing the kimono that Yukari got her before, while Yukari is wearing a white kimono with purple swan designs, though the top is opened up a bit to show a bit of cleavage.

"Sorry it took us so long," Voshkie'ahk says.

"Well, now that the gang's all here, for the most part, what do you guys says we get this celebration on the road and have some fun?!" Sun cheers.

Lloyd raises his fist, "Yeah, festival food, here I come!" he cheers as well.

With that, the group split off to do their own things and enjoy the festival. Lloyd drags Oscar off somewhere while the respective couples go their own way. Sun and Blake walk around the stalls and stands, with Sun deciding to try out a water gun game to win a prize for Blake. Though Blake isn't looking for anything, seeing Sun looking so determined to get her something was amusing to her, so she let him have his moment. He ends up getting her a big Beowolf plushy (he was originally thinking about a cat plushy, but thought she would take that the wrong way and decided against it). Meanwhile, Yukari and Voshkie'ahk stroll through the park, seeing all of the lights and performers in the area.

"Ah, isn't this grand?" Yukari says, her arms wrapped around Voshkie'ahk's.

"Well it is a nice change of pace at least," Voshkie'ahk notes.

"Oh, I don't care about that. I'm talking about being able to have another little date with you again, my darling," Yukari coos, rubbing her cheek up against Voshkie'ahk.

"Yukari, please," Voshkie'ahk says.

"Oh, I'm just teasing dear," Yukari says as they go to sit on a nearby park bench. "So, enjoying yourself so far?" she asks.

"Well, I will say that I am having a good time," Voshkie'ahk says.

Yukari gives her a gentle kiss on her cheek, "I'm just glad that I was able to spend this moment with you. As I said before, I was worried about you when I heard about the attack at Haven Academy," she says.

Voshkie'ahk takes Yukari's hand in her own, "I'm sorry about making you worry Yukari. That wasn't my intention," she says.

"It's alright, Voshkie. You're a dragon; strong, beautiful, courageous, and graceful, and I'm so proud of what you've become. How much you've grown since you and I first met. That's just one of the reasons why I love you so much, my darling," Yukari says.

Voshkie'ahk smiles, "I love you too, Yukari," she says.

The pair share a loving kiss and then Voshkie'ahk leans her head on Yukari's shoulder, each of them enjoying one another's company. Meanwhile, Weiss and Reaper are at another part of the festival grounds, walking around the stalls.

"So, feel like having a snack?" Reaper asks.

"Not right now, but maybe later," Weiss politely declines.

"Very well," Reaper says, but then gets a little bold as he decides to take Weiss' hand into his own. Weiss blushes, as does Reaper. "Is... this okay?" he asks tentatively.

"W-well, I suppose I could allow it," Weiss stutters.

"I mean, if you're not okay with it-," Reaper begins.

Weiss wraps an arm around Reaper's, "It's fine. It's fine *sigh*. Just taking a little while to get used to this sort of thing. Being in a relationship, I mean. Back home, my father tried to set me up with suitors; sons of business partners. Of course, each and every one of them were pigs, dogs, and egotistical jerks that never truly cared about me. I never really had a thought about boys because of that, even after I came to Beacon," she explains.

"Well, there was Neptune," Reaper notes.

"Neptune was cute, but a hopeless womanizer. He focused on a lot of girls. You, on the other hand, only focused on one," Weiss says, smiling at Reaper, who returns the gesture.

"I just felt that you deserved better," Reaper notes.

"And I'm glad you think that way. You care about me for me. Not for my looks, or for my name, or for my money. Me. And I will always love you for that, Reaper," Weiss says.

The pair stop off in a corner somewhere in a tree and Reaper takes her hands in his.

"And I will always love you for you, Weiss," Reaper says.

Weiss closes her eyes and leans up a bit. Reaper leans down until his lips connect with hers. Sparks fly between them until they separate, and the two smile at one another. Reaper offers Weiss and arm and she happily accepts it before they continue walking around, enjoying the festival and each other.

With Yang and Porphyrius, the two are sitting on a park bench somewhere, each having some cotton candy while watching some performers doing magic tricks nearby.

"Having fun, Porphyrius?" Yang asks after finishing a little more of her snack.

"I guess so. Still not quite used to this sort of thing... or these clothes for that matter," Porphyrius notes, looking down at his outfit.

Yang giggles, "Oh, I'm sure you'll get used to it soon enough. Or, are you not having fun being with little ol' me?" she teases him.

"Of course I'm happy to be with you! You were all I could think about while I was in Menagerie. I-," Porphyrius begins before Yang stops him with a finger to her lips.

"Oh, I'm just teasing you, Pophyrius. Thought for sure you would be used to it by now," Yang says with a smile.

Porphyrius sighs, "Sorry, I'm just... not much of the playful type," he says.

Yang leans in and kisses his cheek, making him blush, "Maybe, but you know what you are? You're dependable, loyal, caring, a great fighter, and you give it your all to be there for the people you care about. Lloyd told me about your semblance, about how you lost control of it after I got hurt, and how you've been working on getting better at controlling it. How your eyepatch also acts as a seal to weaken it so you can control it more easily. I thought it was sweet that you would get so angry over me getting hurt. I was also worried about you while you were gone," Yang says.

Porphyrius sighs, "I'm sorry for making you worry. I couldn't help you at Beacon or afterward. I guess I was just... feeling sorry for myself," he says.

Yang holds his hand in her prosthetic hand, "THIS wasn't your fault. If it wasn't for you, I might've not made it out alive at Beacon. Blake protected me, but you saved me. You did more than enough for me, Porphyrius," she says.

Porphyrius stares at her, "I just... I just didn't want you to die. Aside from Team KEPL, you've treated me as a person more than anyone else. I didn't want to lose you," he says.

Yang smiles again, "Like I said, you are caring," she says.

"So, even after all that, you would still have me, even with all of my personal problems?" Porphyrius asks.

Yang leans in and kisses him on the lips, "The only person who can say whether or not I can be with you... is me. And I say, yes," she says,

Porphyrius slowly smiles back and the two share a tender kiss again before Porphyrius shares his cotton candy with Yang, who happily accepts the free snack as they enjoy the rest of the magic show. Meanwhile, Ren and Nora are walking through the area when they find Oscar standing next to a hunched Lloyd sitting on a bench, looking gloomy.

"Hey guys, what's the matter?" Nora asks as they approach them.

"Well...," Oscar trails off.

"It's no fair. Reaper's got one. Porphyrius has one, and so does Brother. Voshkie'ahk has one, Sun has one, and even you have one, Ren," Lloyd says, acting grumpy.

"One what?" Ren asks.

Lloyd shakes for a moment, and then explodes, "I WANT A GIRLFRIEND!" he yells, stunning the other three.

"Wait, what?" Oscar asks, confused.

"Everyone has a boyfriend or girlfriend but me. How the Hell can that be fair?!" Lloyd whines.

The others just look on, unsure of what to do. Lloyd then sees a couple of cute girls walk by and decides to try and ask one of them out on a date, while the others watch on with worry. Meanwhile, Ruby and Khazhak walk through the park down the same route they once took back on their date. However, Ruby does look a little wobbly in her sandals.

"Still having trouble, little rose?" Khazhak notes with some humor.

"Shut up, I don't usually dress like this, okay! Ruby retorts, holding onto Khazhak's right arm for support.

"Well, if it helps... you look really beautiful," Khazhak notes, blushing.

Ruby blushes at this, "Oh, um, thanks. You look... nice too," Ruby replies.

The blushing pair walk in silence for a few moments, but then look up into the night sky when they see fireworks exploding into the air, in all kinds of colors and designs.

"Oh, wow, that's so pretty!" Ruby cheers.

"I guess so," Khazhak adds, not really seeing the appeal of it.

"You think we'll get to see something like this again someday?" Ruby asks.

Khazhak glances at her before he takes her hand and kneels in front of her, "After tonight, we probably won't see something like this for a while. But... when the time comes, if you're okay with it, I'll take you to see something like this again," he says.

Ruby is in a little awe at his words, but smiles anyway, "I'd like that. Then it's a date for the future,"she says.

Khazhak smiles back and stands up, taking her hands in his. The pair share a loving kiss with the fireworks in the background. The war with Salem may be far from over, but tonight, they're just going to enjoy this moment like everyone else. Tonight, it's all about them.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A little fun for all the couples (and others) in the story. I couldn't resist putting the girls in kimonos, and giving them some romantic moments with the boys. Good thing too, because the next chapter is a filler, but things get really serious. The heroes enjoy a night of fun, but how long will these good times last? What awaits our heroes in the near future? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	96. Chapter 91: The Dragon's Judgment

**Here we are at Chapter 91. Time for Khazhak to have a little heart-to-heart with Weiss, Blake, and Yang, and not in a good way. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 91. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 91: The Dragon's Judgment**

The rest of the festival went rather well for Khazhak, Ruby, and their friends and soon enough everyone came home once they started to get tired for some much needed rest. However, that would all change the next day. Early in the morning, Khazhak is meeting with the rest of his teammates and Voshkie'ahk in his room.

"Have you found a suitable location, Lloyd?" Khazhak asks.

"Yes brother. This area is far enough away from any populated areas where you won't be interrupted, and gives you plenty of space. We shouldn't have to worry about any local authorities showing up either," Lloyd replies, showing a map of Mistral on his scroll, with a red dot in one location.

Khazhak looks to his sister, "Make sure Ruby isn't around when this goes down. She's not going to want to see this," he says.

"Of course, it will be done, brother," Voshkie'ahk nods.

Khazhak looks to Reaper and Porphyrius, "Reaper, Porphyrius, any problem with this?" he asks.

The pair look at each other, "Not a problem so much as concerns for the aftermath. Are you sure this is wise, Khazhak?" Reaper asks.

"This must be done. I'm not the type to forgive and forget. I just... I just can't let this slide. Besides, if they can't handle something as mundane as this, then they won't last long when we really have to fight Salem and her forces," Khazhak replies.

"I see," Reaper says, though with some apprehension.

Khazhak stares at Porphyrius, "Porphyrius, what about you?" he asks.

Porphyrius remains silent for a while, looking almost anywhere but Khazhak's eyes. Eventually, he sighs and looks to him.

"I'll admit, I don't like it, but... Yang is strong. I know she'll be alright. I believe in her," Porphyrius replies.

Khazhak nods, "Very well. Then let's get things then. Team KEPL, move out," he orders them. The four nod and leave, leaving Khazhak to himself, sort of. "Do I have your consent for this matter?" he asks.

 **"If you require it, I will give you my consent. Your body is fully recovered now, though the thought of using the Dragon Spirit again so soon is still a bit risky,"** Bahamut notes.

"A life without risk is a life unlived, as they say. Besides, they may not be strong enough for this trial. But, better to be safe than sorry," Khazhak notes as he turns and looks out to the horizon.

Meanwhile, Reaper talks with the others, "Hey guys, I have an idea?" he says.

The other three look at him, "What kind of an idea?" Lloyd asks, to which Reaper just smiles.

…

Later that day, Yang, Weiss, and Blake are seen walking towards a very large warehouse building that looks abandoned in the southernmost corner of the kingdom's borders. There's not much else around this area, just a wide-open space with a few other abandoned and run-down buildings in the area. Up above, gray clouds forming in the skies above them.

"So, anyone got any idea why the guys called us out all the way over here?" Yang asks.

"You're guess is as good as mine. Reaper said to meet them here, and that Ruby would be joining us shortly," Weiss notes.

"It definitely feels strange. They didn't seem quite themselves either, except for Voshkie'ahk," Blake adds.

"Well might as well go in and find out what's going on," Yang says and open a side door into the warehouse.

Inside, they find the building completely empty, except for a few structural pillars holding the building up... and Khazhak standing in the center with his arms crossed.

"Khazhak, what's going on? Where's everybody else?" Weiss asks.

Khazhak says nothing before he suddenly fires off a spark shot at Weiss. Weiss has barely enough time to duck and avoid the shot as it flies by. Now, the girls are really concerned.

"What's your problem, Khazhak?!" Yang yells.

"My problem is you three idiots. Did you really think it would be that easy?" Khazhak replies.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asks.

"Over half a year... Over half a year and Ruby doesn't hear a single word from any of you. And that's not just because the CCT is still down. Do you have any idea what she's been through since the Fall of Beacon? Do you have any idea how HURT she was when you all abandoned her?!" Khazhak yells, his rage boiling.

The three get defensive at this, "It's not like that! We would never abandon Ruby!" Yang retorts.

"You can do whatever you want. I'm just gonna lie here... Just leave me alone," Khazhak repeats Yang's old words, making Blake and Weiss look at her while Yang looks away in guilt. "And the worst part was that when she said she loved you... You didn't answer back. It took you over half a year to finally say those words, and while she may have been happy to hear them, it still doesn't mean you get off scot free," he says.

"Look, this isn't Yang's fault. She was injured. She couldn't go anywhere!" Weiss defends her teammate.

"And what about you Weiss?! You had no injuries that were holding you back from staying. Oh wait, now I remember. You were too busy being your father's slave! Team RWBY treated you more like family than he ever did, and when the chips were down... you chose HIM over them," Khazhak argues back, making Weiss look away in shame like Yang.

"There's no reason for you to degrade them like this, Khazhak!" Blake retorts.

"And you, Blake, you may be the worst of all. You had absolutely nothing holding you back, but when your friends needed you the most... you RAN. You ran and proved once again that you are nothing more than a coward that will run from her problems, her past, her FEARS, rather than face them, even at the cost of your own teammates. Porphyrius told me how you stood up to Adam Taurus during the battle for Haven, but that was only because he was there, along with your family and the Faunus of Menagerie and Sun. If they weren't there, I bet you would've buckled like last time and ran with your tail between your legs," Khazhak says, countering her as well. Blake lowers her head and her ears, feeling ashamed about her past mistakes. "You all may be back now, but what's to stop you from abandoning Ruby again, huh? What happens if something like the Fall of Beacon happens again? Are you gonna stand and fight alongside Ruby like you should've, or are you going to reveal your true colors and run for the hills like the selfish cowards you are?" Khazhak seethes.

"Khazhak, what is wrong with you? I thought we were friends!" Yang retorts, getting angry now.

"... Yeah, I thought so too. That turned out to be my GREATEST mistake. A mistake I do not intend to make again!" Khazhak says and then draws out his sword.

"What the Hell?!" Yang yells.

"You three committed the most unforgivable of sins, and that cannot go unpunished. I am the Storm of Judgment, and I will punish the guilty of this world. That includes you," Khazhak says.

"Khazhak, you can't be serious. You think Ruby would want us fighting like this?!" Weis retorts.

"Ruby doesn't know we're here, and she won't know because you won't be around to tell her," Khazhak argues back.

"What does that mean?" Blake asks.

"A little test, so to speak. You win, you stay. I win, and all three of you are gone and you will never come near Ruby ever again. That is nonnegotiable," Khazhak explains.

"You... you're willing to go that far?" Yang asks in shock. Seeing the look in Khazhak's eyes is all the answer she needs. Yang grist her teeth and activates her weapons. "Fine, if this is what it's going to take to convince you, then I guess we'll just have to beat it out of you," she says.

Weiss and Blake draw their weapons and join her.

Khazhak grunts, "Go ahead. Just know that I'm not the same Khazhak you remember from Beacon. Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long... Prepare to be Judged," Khazhak declares.

Khazhak shoots over to them, swinging his sword in a wide arc at all three of them. The girls jump back and Yang makes the first counter by firing her weapons behind her to propel her at Khazhak. She throws a right cross, but he deflects it with his left arm and then swings his sword down on her. Yang blocks by crossing her arms above her, but then Khazhak kicks her in the stomach, moving her back. Weiss creates several glyphs off to the side and fires off some fire balls at Khazhak. Khazhak jumps back to evade them, but then Blake comes in on his rear with her blades out. She spins in the air and swings her katana at Khazhak, but Khazhak backhands the blade away with his left arm, followed by an angle kick to her ribs that knocks her away. Khazhak charges up his sword and sends out a Lightning Slash technique at her. Blake uses her semblance to avoid it, but then Yang comes in to her defense, firing off several shots at Khazhak. Khazhak jumps up to evade a few and swings his sword around to block the rest. When he lands, Weiss conjures a black glyph under his feet to glue him to the ground. Blake and Yang run at him, but Khazhak charges lightning into his left fist and smashes it o the ground, destroying it and the glyph, giving him the chance to jump into the air above them. He fires off a few spark shots at them, forcing them back as he lands back on the ground. Weis slides in on her glyphs to swing her rapier up into his face, only for Khazhak to parry the blade with his own The pair make a few more parrying strikes at one another but Khazhak manages to grab her rapier, leaving her open to a sword strike across her chest, knocking her back. Yang jumps into the air, right fist reeled back. She throws a punch, but Khazhak catches it in his left hand and swings her up and slams her on the ground.

Khazhak kicks her away in order to focus back on Blake and Weiss. The pair make a criss-cross combo at him, but he activates the blade in his left arm and deflects both of their attacks in their combined assault. Blake jumps into the air, firing off a shot from her pistol hat Khazhak avoids by leaning his head to the side, followed by Weiss thrusting her rapier at him. However, Khazhak grabs her sword again and swings her around into Blake, sending the pair flying back. Khazhak then charges up more lightning and sends out his Lightning Devastation technique, nailing them and sending them crashing into a nearby wall. Yang jumps back into the fight, throwing a series of quick punches at Khazhak. Khazhak blocks them with his sword, but then Blake comes at his left flank and throws her chain-scythe at him. Khazhak kicks the weapon away, but this gives Yang the chance to punch him in the stomach, making him slide back across the ground. Weiss stands off to the side and creates a summoning glyph. While the other two continue fighting Khazhak, she has the time to summon her Armas Gigas. Blake throws her chain-scythe at Yang, who catches it and swings her around towards Khazhak. However, Khazhak charges up his sword and launches his Lightning Oblivion technique at her. Blake can't stop her momentum and takes a few lightning bolts, knocking her to the ground. Yang comes in again, throwing a roundhouse kick at Khazhak, who blocks with his left arm and then leg sweeps her off her feet.

Before Khazhak can continue, he jumps back when the Armas Gigas swings its massive blade at him. The three girls regroup with the summon and then charge at Khazhak again. Unbeknownst to them all, the rest of Team KEPL, Voshkie'ahk, and Ruby arrive in the shadows to watch the battle.

"I don't get it! Why is Khazhak fighting my teammates?!" Ruby asks Reaper.

"Khazhak is punishing them for abandoning you at the Fall of Beacon. He just couldn't let that slide, but he had to wait until all three of them were present," Reaper explains.

"I have to stop him. He'll listen to me," Ruby says.

Lloyd grabs her shoulder, "You can't," he says, stopping her.

"Why not?!" Ruby argues.

"Because he's doing this for YOU, Ruby," Lloyd says.

"What, that doesn't make any sense. I never wanted this!" Ruby retorts.

"He knows that, but it's not just about you either... He's doing this for them as well," Porphyrius adds.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asks.

Back in the fight, Khazhak fires off some spark shots, but the Armas Gigas blocks them with its sword. Blake and Yang jump onto its shoulders and then up into the air, firing off their weapons at him. Khazhak twirls his blade around to block the shots, but then Weiss and her Armas Gigas pour on the pressure. Weiss makes a few swings at Khazhak, who deflects them, but then the Armas Gigas swings its sword down on Khazhak. Khazhak holds up his blade to block the attack, but leaves himself vulnerable to another attack by Blake and Yang, who nail him with a combo that sends him flying back across the ground. Khazhak regains his footing as Yang and Blake charge him again. Lightning surges around him and then Blake makes the first move, throwing a jump kick to his face. Khazhak smacks the thrown leg away and then counters with an upward slash of his blade, hitting Blake and knocking her back. Yang rolls under her and throws a right cross at Khazhak, but he catches it in his left hand again and sends lightning through his arm and into hers, electrocuting her and making her scream. Khazhak then front kicks her away before turning his attention to Weiss and her summon. Weiss creates more glyphs and fires off some ice shards at him, which he easily destroys with a single stroke of his blade. The Armas Gigas runs in and swings its sword downward at Khazhak, smashing the ground. Khazhak suddenly appears on top of the sword, unscathed, and runs up along the blade to through a lightning enhanced punch to the summon's helmet. The Armas Gigas staggers back, Khazhak gets knocked back by a shot from Yang.

Weiss and Blake run back into the fight once more making a series of combos at him with their weapons. Khazhak deflects all of them, but then Yang runs in between Weiss and Blake and throws an uppercut at him. Khazhak blocks with his blade, but gets knocked into the air. The Armas Gigas then makes a huge swing with its sword, sending Khazhak flying back into a wall, and then falling onto one knee while the others regroup.

"Come on Khazhak. You can't really think you can beat us all by yourself," Yang notes.

Khazhak chuckles, "Heh-heh-heh-heh, maybe your right. If it's just myself, I might have some trouble defeating the three of you..." Khazhak says as he stands back up, and then closes his left eye, smirking. "... But against the TWO of us..." he says, confusing the girls. "...BAHAMUT!" Khazhak yells.

 **"Yeeeesssss, I grant you consent,"** Bahamut says as Khazhak activates the Dragon Spirit.

Dark blue dragon scales spread around half of Khazhak's face, skull, throat, and his right shoulder and part of his right arm, just like last time. A small curved horn appears on his right jawline, his pupils become slits, and his right eye glows red. Meanwhile, the girls are shocked by his transformation. However, they are shocked even further when they see the faint form of Bahamut standing over Khazhak, roaring at them for a moment before disappearing. Lightning surges around Khazhak.

"I told you, I'm not the same Khazhak you remember from Beacon," Khazhak notes.

"What the Hell is going on. I've never seen Khazhak like this before," Blake notes.

"Yang, do you know anything about this?" Weiss asks.

"No, but... I remember something. Back at Haven, while we were fighting Cinder's goons, I saw Voshkie'ahk do something similar, and then the left half of her face suddenly had white scales on it, and her left eye was glowing green. It freaked me out, but I couldn't focus on it back then because we were fighting," she says.

"My sister also possesses the Dragon Spirit, but my connection to it is stronger than hers, so don't go getting any ideas. Now then, let's go... Bahamut," Khazhak says.

Khazhak takes one step forward, only to suddenly appear right in front of them, further shocking them. Khazhak makes a wide swing with his blade, sending all three of them flying into the wall. The Armas Gigas attacks Khazhak with his sword, but Khazhak swings his left hand, knocking it back like it was paper. Meanwhile, Ruby and the others continue to watch from the shadows.

"Whoa, so that's Brother's power," Lloyd notes in awe.

"This is the power of the Dragon Spirit. Now Khazhak is going all out," Voshkie'ahk adds.

"We have to stop them. He's going to hurt my friends!" Ruby says, but once again Lloyd, and Reaper, hold her back. "Let go of me!" Ruby yells.

"If you go and stop him, then you'll just end up getting your teammates killed," Lloyd says.

That stops Ruby, "What are you talking about?" Ruby asks.

"Khazhak has never been good at revealing his true feelings in situations like this," Reaper says as they look on.

Blake throws her chain-scythe at Khazhak, but he catches it with his left hand and pulls her in close. He swings his sword, but Blake uses her semblance to evade it and swing around behind him. She goes for another attack, but a burst of lightning surges around Khazhak's body, stopping her attack. Khazhak then swings around, his left fist encased in lightning, and hits her in the face with his fist, sending her flying back. Yang comes in, throwing a roundhouse kick that he leans back to evade, and then follows it up with a right hook and a left jab, both of which Khazhak blocks with his sword. Khazhak swings his left leg up, forcing Yang to step back to avoid it, and then swings it down on her. Yang jumps back just in time, causing Khazhak to smash his foot on the ground. Yang fires off some shots with her weapons, but Khazhak twirls his sword around to block them, and then counters with some super-charged spark shots. Yang dodges a few of them, but a fourth shot nails her in the chest, taking her off balance and giving Khazhak the chance to throw a left uppercut into her chin, sending her crashing into the ceiling above. Weiss sends her summon to attack him again, reeling its sword back and then swinging it down on him. However, Khazhak simply catches the sword in his left hand, surprising Weiss.

"A weapon is only as strong as the one who wields it. Your summon is just another weapon, and your weapon, Weiss... is pathetic," Khazhak notes with disappointment.

Khazhak sends out a surge of lightning, destroying the Armas Gigas' blade. Khazhak then charges up lightning around his mouth.

"RAIRYU ROAR!" Khazhak yells as he does his breath attack, destroying the Armas Gigas.

Weiss is shocked at how easily her summon was destroyed, but she has no time to dwell on it as Khazhak is already on her. Khazhak swings his sword down on her out of nowhere. Weiss barely deflects the strike, but Khazhak's attacks are relentless, and she finds herself getting pushed on the defensive. She tries to create some more glyphs, but Khazhak swings his sword, sending out several lightning bolts that destroy each and every one of them. Khazhak grabs Weiss' face in his left hand and fires off a few spark shots point-blank, further damaging her aura. Once he lets go, Weiss stumbles on her feet, but then Khazhak throws a hard left uppercut into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and taking out the rest of her aura.

"You never could take a punch, Weiss," Khazhak mutters before tossing her to the ground, her rapier falling beside her.

Blake comes in, angry at what he did to Weiss, and tries to get some payback. Blake swings her katana at his side, but Khazhak catches it in his left hand, and then head-butts her in the face, followed by kicking her away. Blake manages to land on her feet, and then Yang runs by her towards Khazhak. She fires her gauntlets behind her to propel her into the air, but Khazhak jumps into the air to meet her. The pair smash the prosthetic fists together, but only Yang gets sent flying back. Khazhak lands on the ground and charges up his semblance, sending out his Lightning Tornado Crusher technique at Yang. Yang gets struck hard, engulfing her in smoke. Meanwhile, Khazhak turns his focus back onto Blake. Blake uses her semblance to move around Khazhak, attacking his right flank. Khazhak blocks her first strike with his sword, and then her next with his left arm. Blake turns her sword into its pistol form and fires off a shot close up. Khazhak narrowly avoids the shot by leaning his head to the side, and then knees Blake in the stomach, followed by hitting her in the back of her skull with his left elbow, sending her to the round. Blake struggles to get up, but Khazhak just charges up more lightning in his left fist and then smashes it down on top of her. Yang gets back up, just in time to see Blake pass out, her aura diminished, while Khazhak stands over her.

"That's two down. Only you now, Yang," Khazhak notes as he walks past Blake, and then stabs his sword into the ground, confusing Yang. "I don't need my blade to defeat just you alone, Yang," Khazhak says, taking off his tattered cloak as well.

"I'm not done yet, Khazhak," Yang retorts, holding up her fists.

"The three of you together couldn't beat me, so what makes you think you alone can win?" Khazhak asks.

"Simple, because I'm not going to let some jerk say that I'm going to turn my back on my sister and let him get away with it. I know that I messed up back in Vale. I messed up big time, and I will never forget that. But, I came all this way because I wanted to be there for my sister like she was there for me. I won't make the same mistake again," Yang says.

"And how do I know those words are actually true? Let's see you convince me with your fists," Khazhak says, holding up his fists as well.

A slight breeze goes by before the two rush at each other, throwing a punch at each other that connects with the other. Yang throws a quick jab that Khazhak parries, followed by a few punches. Khazhak blocks them and then makes a spinning hook kick that Yang ducks under and goes for an uppercut. Khazhak leans back to avoid it and throws a right sidekick at Yang. Yang blocks the strike, but slides back across the floor. Yang fires off a few more shots at Khazhak, but Khazhak activates his arm blades and blocks them with the blades. He then goes on the offensive and makes a series of thrusts with his arm blades. Yang parries a few of them, but then Khazhak swings his right blade around, knocking her arms away and getting a quick left swing with his blade on her chest, followed a angle kick to her legs. With her balance off, Khazhak does a leg sweep to send her to the ground, and then kicks her away a few yards. All the while, Ruby and the others watch on.

"Yang... Why does he want them gone so badly?" Ruby asks, tears beginning to form in her arms.

"He doesn't want them gone. Not in the slightest," Reaper says.

"What?" Ruby asks.

"Khazhak is only being hard on them like this... because he wants them to live," Porphyrius says.

"He... wants them to live?" Ruby asks.

"Believe me, Khazhak is still plenty angry at them for what happened in Vale, but... he knows that you're happier when they're here, and he knows that losing Penny and Pyrrha hurt you very much. He doesn't want you to lose the people you care about most, so he's putting them through the ringer here because he wants them to be prepared for the future," Reaper explains.

"Brother knows that Salem won't show us any mercy the next time we fight her and her forces. They'll do whatever it takes to win, and so Brother is preparing your teammates for that battle. He doesn't want them to die. He wants them to live and to win, so if he has to put them through the ringer a bit, then that's what he'll do. He's doing this, because he'll never admit it and deep down... he still thinks of them as his friends. And Brother has lost enough friends... just like you. He's doing this for you, for them, and for all of us. So we don't lose anyone else," Lloyd finishes.

Hearing the real reason why Khazhak is fighting her teammates makes Ruby stare back at Khazhak. Realizing that she was wrong about him, Ruby stands resolute and allows the battle to continue. Back in the fight, Yang and Khazhak run at each other, clashing their hands in a clash of strength. Yang's semblance activates, her hair lighting up, and her eyes turning red, as she pushes Khazhak back. However, Khazhak narrows his eyes as his lightning surges around his body again, and he now begins to push Yang back. The two grit their teeth as they push against one another, but Khazhak slowly gains more ground. Yang's strength begins to fade as her aura runs low, as well as her semblance weakening. Soon enough, Khazhak forces her down onto one knee. Khazhak thinks that Yang's strength has left her, only for Yang to get her second wind and suddenly jump up and knee Khazhak in the face. She then throws a few quick punches to his face and then roundhouse kicks him away. Yang jumps at him, right fist reeled back, however...

More lightning courses around Khazhak's left fist, "APOCALYPTIC THUNDER DRAGON BURST!" Khazhak yells as he smashes his left fist into the ground, sending out a large explosion of lightning that engulfs him and Yang. When the dust settles, those on the sidelines find Yang on the ground, her aura depleted, and Khazhak standing over her, victorious. Weiss and Blake regain consciousness and look up in horror at the sight. They fought... and they lost.

"And that makes three," Khazhak notes before walking to retrieve his sword and his cloak.

Blake and Weiss crawl over to Yang, helping each other onto their knees.

"We... we lost," Weiss mutters in dismay.

"And that means...," Blake begins.

Yang looks to Khazhak, "We have to leave... But I'm not leaving," she declares.

Khazhak glares back at her, "What?" he mutters.

"I said I'm not leaving. You don't get to decide if we have to leave Ruby, because I'm not leaving her. I don't care who I'm fighting, or how tough it gets," Yang says as she slowly gets back on her feet. "I will NEVER abandon Ruby again. Never," she declares.

Weiss and Blake help each other up onto their feet, "The same goes for us," Blake adds.

"Yes, we won't let Ruby fight this war alone. We're teammates. We're family, and we will always fight together," Wess finishes.

Khazhak just stares at them, seeing the resolution in their eyes, "...Then you'd better keep your word then. Otherwise, I won't be so merciful next time," he says as he holsters his blade.

"Wait, what?" Yang asks, blinking in confusion.

"I said I'm allowing you to stay. I never really intended on kicking you out anyway. That would only make Ruby sad, and I don't want that," Khazhak says.

"Wait, so you mean we can stay?" Weiss asks.

"Guys!" Ruby yells out before Khazhak answers, running to her teammates and hugging them. "Oh, I'm so glad you're okay," she says.

Khazhak looks surprised by her presence, but then notices his teammates and his sister joining them.

"You were supposed to keep her away," Khazhak notes.

Lloyd rubs his head, chuckling nervously, "Well, Reaper thought this would be a better idea," he says, pointing to his teammate.

Khazhak glares at him, "I'll be dealing with you later," he warns him.

Reaper shrugs his shoulders, "I figured as much. It wouldn't be the first time," he notes.

Khazhak turns to Ruby, "I'm sorry you had to see that, Ruby," he apologizes as he kneels to her.

"It's alright, as long as you guys are good now. Just, no more fighting with each other, okay?" Ruby asks.

"As you wish, Ruby," Khazhak says as he stands up. "Bahamut, that's enough for now," he says.

 **"As you wish, but you asked for it,"** Bahamut says, and deactivates the Dragon Spirit.

Khazhak's body pulses and he feels extreme amounts of pain through his body, falling onto his hands and knees, puking out blood.

"Khazhak!" Ruby yells as she rushes to his side.

The others, aside from Voshkie'ahk, watch in horror since they've never seen something like this before.

"Brother!" Lloyd moves to help Ruby help Khazhak.

"Did... did we do that?" Yang asks, horrified.

"No, you didn't. Khazhak's power, as well as mine, the Dragon Spirit, is an incredible power. It grants the wielder the strength of a dragon. However, it comes at a great cost. We can only use it for a limited time, and only as a last resort because once we reach our limit, our bodies go through huge amounts of pain. This is what Khazhak goes through every time he uses his power. But, if it's for Ruby, then that's the price he's willing to pay," Voshkie'ahk explains.

To see Khazhak willing to go through such an ordeal for Ruby stuns the three members of Team RWBY. This is how far he's willing to go for her, and they need to be ready to do the same. Ruby and Lloyd wrap Khazhak's arms over their shoulders and practically have to carry him out of the building. The three girls then fall onto their knees, exhausted from the fight. However, they too receive some help. Reaper picks Weiss up in a bridal carry, as does Porphyrius with Yang, and Voshkie'ahk helps Blake up, with an arm on her shoulders.

"Reaper, what are you-," Weiss yells, blushing madly.

"Come on, you're too tired to even stand up. I'll carry you. It's the least I can do. You did very well, Weiss," Reaper says.

Weiss blushes more, but says nothing and wraps her arms around his neck as she allows him to carry her out. Porphyrius and Yang say nothing as they follow them, though Yang smiles at the kind gesture and kisses him on the cheek, making him blush and her giggle.

"Oh, give me a break," Blake notes with annoyance at the display.

"Hey, you should see what Yukari does with me sometimes. I love her, but even my patience has its limits," Voskie'ahk notes as she helps Blake walk out of the building with the others.

…

Back at the house, Voshkie'ahk explains the situation to the others and why they were out so long. She and Reaper help Weiss and Blake onto the couches at get them something to drink while Ruby and Lloyd help Khazhak to his room to rest. Meanwhile, Porphyrius carries Yang to her room so she can rest.

"Porphyrius, not that I don't enjoy this, but I can walk on my own two feet now," Yang asks.

"Sorry, guess I got a little carried away," Porphyrius replies as he gently puts Yang on her feet. "You sure you're okay?" he asks.

Yang sits on her bed, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm tough, remember," she notes.

Porphyrius sighs, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. To be honest, I wasn't exactly fond of the idea," he says.

"Don't be. I'm not. Khazhak was right to do that. This war with Salem won't be easy. Yeah, we won at Haven, but that just means she'll come at us with everything she has the next time. We need to be ready, and Khazhak was just trying to help us out with that. It's okay, Porphyrius," Yang says.

Porphyrius sits next to Yang, "You sure you'll be fine?" he asks, still a little unconvinced.

Yang caresses his cheek and kisses him, leaving him stupified for a moment, "Does that answer your question?" she asks, smiling.

Porphyrius smiles back and leans in to kiss her again. The pair kiss several more times, each time becoming more passionate and with more purpose. Eventually, Porphyrius picks Yang up and places her on his lap as they continue to kiss, holding each other in their arms. Their passion grows before Porphyrius moves, placing Yang on her back on the bed with him looming over her. The pair stare in silence for a moment before Yang nods to Porphyrius. With that little bit of encouragement, Porphyrius makes the plunge to connect with Yang once again, deciding to keep her up for a lot longer than she originally thought.

…

The next morning, Yang and Porphyrius walk into the dining room, finding everyone else inside.

"Good morning guys," Yang greets them, but then they all look at her with dark circles under their eyes, and irritated looks on their faces. "What?" she asks.

"Next time, go to a hotel or something," Khazhak notes, making the couple blush.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Khazhak fights with Weiss, Blake, and Yang, emerging victorious, with the three girls now more determined to be there for Ruby. Meanwhile, Yang and Porphyrius go the next step in their relationship, much to the others annoyance. One more filler chapter, and then I'll be doing the Voshkie'ahk Character Short and then it's on to Volume 6. What awaits our heroes down the road? Will Khazhak ever forgive Weiss, Blake, and Yang? Will Yang and Porphyrius remember to let the others sleep next time? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	97. Chapter 92: HOT Springs

**Here we are at Chapter 92. The last filler before the Voshkie'ahk character short and then volume 6. Let's see how things play out here for Khazhak and his friends. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 97. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 92: HOT Springs**

It has been a day since Khazhak's battle with Weiss, Blake, and Yang, and the fighters of those battles have recovered from their ordeal... well, for the most part. In the living room are the members of Team RWBY and KEPL, aside from their leaders, are sitting while making mild conversation.

"So, how are you guys feeling after getting tossed around by Brother?" Lloyd asks from the couch.

"Ugh, don't remind me. My ribs are still healing from that punch he gave me," Weiss groans as she rubs her stomach.

"Well, what did you expect? He doesn't hold back when he feels like it. Just be glad he didn't kill you," Porphyrius notes.

"I bet you're glad he didn't kill Yang. From the sound of it, it sounded like you two were... BUSY the other night after that battle," Reaper teases them.

This makes Porphyrius and Yang blush as they glance at each other before looking away, embarrassed that everyone else heard them. Who knew Yang would be so loud? The others laugh a little at their embarrassment. Just then, a knock is heard at the door.

"Who's that," Lloyd wonders.

"I got it. I asked an old friend to come and join us," Blake says as she walks to the door and opens it up to reveal Ilia on the other side. "Ilia, I'm glad you could make it," Blake says as she greets her friend.

"Thanks for inviting me, but...," Ilia trails off as she glances behind Blake to see the others, the humans inside the room. "... Are you sure it's okay for me to be here?" she asks.

Blake takes her hand, "It's okay, Ilia. They're my friends. You just need to get to know them and you'll see that they're good people," Blake assures her and brings her inside. "Everyone, this is Ilia, and old friend of mine, from when I was still with the White Fang. She helped me finish things back home, and she helped us stop the White Fang here," Blake introduces her friend.

"Um... hi," Ilia gives a weak wave to them.

The group just stare at her for a moment, making her feel more and more tense.

"Do you trust her?" Lloyd asks.

"I do," Porphyrius says, taking the group by surprise. "What's important is not what we did in the past, but what we do now and in the future. She's trying to atone for her mistakes. Not many people have that kind of strength," he says.

"...Well if Porphyrius is okay with her, then so am I. A pleasure to meet you," Reaper nods to Ilia.

"Any friend of Blake's is a friend of mine," Yang says.

"I guess I'm cool with it," Lloyd adds.

All eyes then turn to Weiss, who has been silent this whole time. Ilia feels a little nervous as Weiss just gives her a calm, but serious stare. Weiss then stands up and walks over to her.

"Do you know who I am?" Weiss asks.

"Yes... You're Weiss Schnee," Ilia replies, meeting Weiss' stare.

"Do you know what the White Fang has put my family through?" Weiss asks sternly.

"Yes... But your family is hardly innocent after what the SDC has done-," Ilia begins to retort before Weiss holds up a hand, stopping her.

"I am well aware of what my father's company has done to the Faunus. And that is why I wish to say... I'm sorry," Weiss apologizes.

This takes Ilia by surprise, "Wait... what?" she stutters.

"I am aware that no amount of apologies can make up for what my father has done to your people, but right now an apology is the only thing I can offer. Seeing as how I am an ex-heiress, I won't be able to take control of the SDC and remake it to help the Faunus, rather than hurt them. So again, I'm sorry," Weiss explains.

Ilia is surprised to see a Schnee apologize to her, a Faunus, and even a former member of the White Fang at that, especially after what the White Fang has done to her family.

"But, I don't, I mean I-," Ilia stutters before Blake places a hand on her shoulder.

"Ilia, Weiss is not her father. She accepted the fact that I am a Faunus and that I used to be a member of the White Fang as well. I trust her with my life. And you can trust her too," Blake says.

Ilia looks back to Weiss, who only smiles and offers a hand to her. Ilia stares for a moment, unsure of what to do, and looks to the others. They all nod in encouragement, and eventually, Ilia slowly moves her hand and shakes Weiss', smiling at the start of something new for both sides.

"Man, if only Brother could see this now," Lloyd says.

"Hey, where is Khazhak? Or Ruby for that matter?" Yang wonders.

"Probably in Khazhak's room. She's been by his side ever since the battle, helping him until he fully recovers," Reaper says.

…

Speaking of the two leaders, Khazhak and Ruby are indeed in Khazhak's room, with the pair laying on his bed, snuggled up next to each other.

"You know, you don't have to always be with me every minute of the day. It's not like I'm paralyzed or anything," Khazhak notes as he holds Ruby close to him.

"Yeah, but I want to make sure you're back to full strength. Besides, I like being with you like this. Don't you?" Ruby asks, laying her head on his chest.

"Well, I won't disagree," Khazhak replies, making her giggle.

"I'm just glad that you were able to work things out with my teammates for the most part. But no more fighting them okay," Ruby orders him as she sits up to look him in the eye.

Khazhak sighs, but obeys, "As you wish, Ruby," he says.

Ruby smiles before leaning down to kiss him, which he eagerly returns. The two remain in their embrace, enjoying the moment, until the need for air overtakes them and they have to separate. Ruby giggles a bit while Khazhak smiles back.

"How about I go make us some tea?" Ruby asks.

"I'd like that," Khazhak replies.

"Good. But no moving, okay. You still need to rest," Ruby says, a finger on his nose before she gets up and leaves the room.

 **"You sense it too, right?"** Bahamut asks.

"Yep," Khazhak replies, then narrows his eyes and sits up, "You can come in now," he calls out. Just then, Ilia walks into the room, and closes the door behind her. "You know, it's rude and despicable to eavesdrop on people who are having a private moment together," Khazhak notes.

"Do you know who I am?" Ilia asks.

"You're a member of the White Fang," Khazhak replies, cracking his knuckles a bit.

"FORMER member of the White Fang. I'm Ilia, and I know who you are. A lot of White Fang members have been killed over the years because of you," Ilia says.

"If you're looking for an apology, then you can forget it. They harmed and killed innocent people, both human AND Faunus. They had it coming. That's the difference between you and me. We're both killers, however, my victims deserved it. So, what? You looking for payback? It's cowardly to come after someone when they're in a weakened state," Khazhak notes, a spark of lightning forming around his left arm.

"...No, I'm not. I realize now that what the White Fang was doing was wrong; that following Adam was a mistake. I came here to apologize to you for what we've put you through. I'm sorry," Ilia says and bows her head to him.

Now Khazhak is surprised, and that's pretty hard to do. He raises an eyebrow at her and then sighs before lying back down on the bed.

"As long as you're prepared to atone for your mistakes, and start working towards actually helping your kind, then we can start over. At least, you and I can, but as for the rest of the White Fang that are still radical, that's a different story," Khazhak says.

Ilia raises her head, "Thank you, Khazhak Rairyu. I-," Ilia begins.

"Oh, there you are!" they hear and look back to see Yukari behind them as she opens the door. "I've been looking for you. You have to come and see this!" she cheers.

"See what?" Khazhak asks.

…

Back in the living room, everyone is standing around the room, all looking at the same thing: Oscar in his new outfit. He is wearing an olive coat with shoulder pads and a belt, both of dark red. Underneath, he is wearing a white collared shirt and bandages wrapped around the neck. His gloves have a slightly open U-shape with black X-pattern wrist straps. He is also wearing black trousers and red boots colored orange at the toe. Oscar appears embarrassed at all the attention, while Yukari is beaming behind him.

"Tada! I finally finished Oscar's proper combat outfit. It took a bit of work, but I managed to get it done just in time," Yukari says.

"Wow, you're looking pretty sharp, Oscar," Jaune notes.

"Not bad. Maybe I could get Yukari to do something for me," Lloyd mutters.

Oscar rubs his head, "This feels kind of weird," he notes.

"Oh don't worry, you'll get used to it. Now then-," Yukari says before she gets right in front of Ilia. "You," she says, pointing at her.

"W-What?" Ilia stutters.

"That outfit will not do at all. I'll make you something that's both fashionable and combat appropriate," Yukari says before taking out some measuring tape. "I'll need to take your measurements first though," she says, showing an evil grin that says Ilia doesn't have a choice in the matter.

"W-W-Wait, hold on a second," Ilia gets scared now.

Voshkie'ahk can only sigh with a hand on her head, "What am I going to do with her?" she mutters, exhausted already.

…

Later in the evening, everyone is at a local hot springs resort that Yukari recommended for them to get some final relaxation going before the train to Argus arrives, which is only in a few days. The girls are all in one bath, towels around their waists, while the guys are at another, with large bamboo walls to separate them. In the girl's bath, Blake and Yang look at Ilia, who appears ready to pass out from exhaustion.

"Are you okay, Ilia?" Blake asks.

"I'm fine. I didn't think some designer girl would be scarier than a Grimm. I'm starting to miss Menagerie now," Ilia groans.

"Well, at least it wasn't that bad... Hopefully. You're still alive after all," Ruby says, trying to help her out.

Off to the side, Yukari rubs her head and laughs a bit, "Heh-heh-heh, my apologies. When I get going on making something new, I tend to get a little carried away," Yukari says.

Voshkie'ahk gives her a deadpan look, "That's not even close to what I went through when you were making my clothes," she mutters.

 **"I could only imagine what she put you through, my child,"** Tiamat notes.

"Oh, please, it's not like you didn't entirely hate the experience, am I right?" Yukari teases her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Voshkie'ahk retorts with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Oh, you're so precious, my darling!" Yukari coos and moves to wrap her arms around Voshkie'ahk, much to the other girl's annoyance.

"Yukari, not while we're with everyone else in the bath!" Voshkie'ahk yells.

"Oh, would you prefer it if we were alone in my room," Yukari says seductively.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Voshkie'ahk yells.

Meanwhile, the other girls watch on and laugh, while Ilia blushes a bit at the scene. Blake sees this and pats her on the shoulder.

"You get used to it... I think. From what I've been told, this happens a lot," Blake says.

"I see," Ilia says.

While Ilia would've loved it if it were her and Blake in that position, she has come to understand that that won't happen, but even still, she will always be there for Blake. That's what friends are for after all.

"Oh, is it just me, or did your boobs get bigger, Voshkie'ahk?" Yukari says as she has her hands on Voshkie'ahk's towel-covered chest underwater.

"W-W-What? Well, I, um, I don't think they've gotten... too big. Argh! Yukari, please let me go!" Voshkie'ahk whines as she tries to break free.

"Oh, no, I need to get your measurements. Come here, my darling!" Yukari says as she holds Voshkie'ahk closer.

"I haven't had a good show like this in months," Nora cheers.

The display makes the others blush a little bit at how close they are. However, one person is turning red for a different reason.

"Hey, Weiss, you okay?" Yang asks.

Weiss pouts and glances away, "I'm just fine, thank you," she replies. "I can't believe this! First Ruby, and now Voshkie'ahk. Why is it that girl younger than me have gotten bigger, meanwhile, I'm as flat as a board? This isn't fair!" She mentally groans.

"Are you... jealous that Voshkie'ahk's boobs are bigger than yours?" Yang asks with a teasing smirk.

"Shut up, Yang!" Weiss yells.

…

Meanwhile, in the men's bath, the boys try to enjoy themselves while the girls are hanging out, towels around their wastes. Of course, there are at least a few guys that are trying to get a closer look at the girl's bath.

"Lloyd, will you please get away from the bamboo wall. If the girls find out that you're trying to peek on them, they're going to slaughter you," Khazhak says, sitting in the bath with his prosthetic arm detached from his body.

 **"Your human behaviors never cease to both amaze and confuse me,"** Bahamut notes.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you guys don't want to try and sneak a peek yourselves?" Lloyd asks, but then looks at Porphyrius. "Well, except for you. You've already seen the whole show when you were with Yang," he says, making Porphyrius blush, and then uses his semblance to slam Lloyd into the ground.

"One more word about that and I'll drown you in this bath," Porphyrius warns him.

"Anyway, the train to Argus will be arriving in a couple of days. Best to enjoy ourselves before we have to get back in the saddle," Reaper notes.

"Ozpin told us about the Relic of Knowledge and what it can do. No doubt we'll face some trouble along the way. You sure you're up for that, Oscar?" Khazhak asks.

"Yeah. I know it'll be tough, but I'm already deep in this. No use backing out now," Oscar says.

"That's the spirit. Don't worry, we'll help you out, Oscar," Jaune assures him.

"Yes. The more allies we have at our side, the better," Ren adds.

At this point, Lloyd wakes back up and gets back in the bath with them, "You guys are no fun," he groans.

"That's because WE want to live and not enter the Hell that is known as a bunch of angry girls on a murderous rampage," Porphyrius states.

"Unlike you, Lloyd, we still have some respect for another person's privacy, especially when that person is a lady," Reaper adds.

"Oh, please, I bet you're just dying to sneak a peek at Weiss while she's in the bath," Lloyd jokes.

Reaper starts blushing at this, "E-E-Even if that were true, I would never violate her trust or her right to privacy by peeking in on her like some sick pervert. I'm sure she had to deal with plenty of idiots like that back at Atlas." he retorts.

"... I can't believe we have to go back to Atlas. After all the crap that kingdom put us through," Porphyrius mutters.

The mood gets a little dark now, making the boys outside of Team KEPL worry a bit.

"You guys okay?" Jaune asks.

"We're fine Jaune. We're just not big fans of Atlas. Not exactly a pleasant history there for most of us," Lloyd says, pointing at his chest.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry," Jaune apologizes.

"There's no need to apologize. Besides, it's like we discussed before. We need to take the relic to a place where it will be safe for the time being, and Atlas is, unfortunately, our best option. We have to make do with what we got," Khazhak says.

 **"Indeed. As you humans would say, 'beggars can't be choosers,"** Bahamut adds.

"I guess you have a point there," Lloyd says.

"Well, I think I've had enough time here. I'm getting changed," Khazhak says and gets his towel back on.

He leaves the men's bath and walks down the hall, only for Ruby to suddenly come out of the girl's bath, wrapped in a towel and dripping wet. The two freeze at the sight of each other, blush madly, and then turn their backs on each other.

"I-I didn't see anything, I swear!" Khazhak quickly says.

"I-I-I didn't mean to come out so suddenly. I'll be going now!" Ruby says and quickly walks down the hall while making sure she is properly covered, blushing a deep red.

Khazhak waits until he's sure she's gone before turning around and heading back to the men's changing room. If Lloyd finds out about this, he'll never live it down.

…

Later at night, everyone has returned to the house to rest after having a relaxing time at the hot springs. Voshkie'ahk is in her room, with Yukari who has her hands clasped together in front of her face.

"Oh, come on now, darling. I said I was sorry," Yukari apologizes.

Voshkie'ahk crosses her arms and looks away, "I can't believe you tried to fondle my breasts in front of everyone! Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?!" she says, quite angry.

"I didn't mean to, I just couldn't help myself... I just wanted to make sure it was real," Yukari says, getting sad.

"What was real?" Voshkie'ahk asks, still angry.

"You. That you were really there, and that we were together at the hot springs. There are times when you're gone for a long time, and I'd never hear anything from you. I know you'll be leaving soon, and I just wanted to enjoy every moment I have with you to the fullest," Yukari explains, looking down in slight shame, making Voshkie'ahk lose her anger. "With the CCT still down, I can't keep in contact with you like I used to. I said it before; I know what I signed up for when I met you. It's just, not knowing can be so hard sometimes," she says.

Now, Voshkie'ahk feels bad about being angry at Yukari. They would be going away soon and who knows when she'll see Yukari again. She then thinks of something crazy and stupid at the same time, but it also feels like the right decision to make.

"Wait here. Don't move a muscle," Voshkie'ahk tells her and walks into the bathroom after grabbing something from the closet. Yukari waits patiently for a few moments until she hears some noise behind her. "Okay, you can look now," she hears and turns around, her eyes widening at seeing Voshkie'ahk in the fox priestess outfit she got for her. "I'm only doing this once, okay."

Voshkie'ahk then walks over and sits on Yukari's lap, straddling her.

"Voshkie, I um, I don't..." Yukari stutters.

Voshkie'ahk smiles a little at that, "Who knew I could actually make you stutter for once. You said that we don't have much time left, so... let's make the most of it," she says and leans down to kiss Yukari.

Yukari eagerly returns the kiss and wraps her arms around Voshkie'ahk's waist. There love and passion for one another grows with each passing second as Voshkie'ahk gently pushes Yukari back onto the bed. They continue to kiss before pulling back to breath, only to get back into it, with Yukari rolling around until she is on top of Voshkie'ahk this time. Their eyes meet in a silent song, and they decide then and there to get as much use out of their time as they can as they kiss again.

…

The night for Yukari and Voshkie'ahk was truly something special. The next morning, however, not so much...

"GET BACK HERE, YUKARI!" Khazhak yells as he tries to kill Yukari, destroying one of the couches in the process.

"Brother, you need to calm down!" Voshkie'ahk yells.

"I WILL WHEN SHE'S DEAD!" Khazhak yells back, breaking something in the kitchen this time.

"Where's Ruby?! We need her to stop Khazhak!" Blake says.

"Um, Ruby's in the bathroom right now, taking a shower. We're on our own!" Yang yells.

"Khazhak, calm down. It's not like I got her pregnant or anything!" Yukari tries to defend herself as she runs from Khazhak.

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY BETTER!" Khazhak yells, destroying a grandfather clock this time.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT COST?!" Yukari yells.

"NOT AS MUCH AS YOUR DAMN FUNERAL!" Khazhak shouts.

Everyone else tries to stop Khazhak with little success. It is only when Ruby finally arrives, 10 minutes later, that she orders him to stop, and he does. Needless to say, Yukari's place is now in need of some serious redecorating.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. The last little filler before we get to the Voshkie'ahk character short. Everyone enjoys some time at the hot springs, and then Yukari and Voshkie'ahk get really close. Of course, Khazhak doesn't like that one bit. We're almost to volume 6 now. What awaits our heroes in the future? Will Yukari ever get on Khazhak's good side? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	98. Chapter 93: Voshkie'ahk Character Short

**Here we are at Chapter 93. Time for Voshkie'ahk and her own character short, so see her past and how she came to be the woman that she is today. I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 93. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 93: Voshkie'ahk Character Short**

 _...Several years ago..._

"You boys take care of yourselves on your little trip okay?" a blonde-haired woman says.

At a house in the middle of the forest, a man is standing on a front porch with his wife, and their children. The man has short, black hair and blue eyes, wearing a sleeveless blue vest over a black, long-sleeved shirt, with vambraces on the forearms. He is also wearing white pants with black combat boots and has a long katana sword in a mechanical sheathe on his back, along with a camping bag. Beside him is a young boy, around twelve years-old, with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and is wearing a blue winter jacket over a white shirt and gray pants and black shoes. On his back is a camping bag, along with a pair of blades crossed on his back beneath the bag. In front of them is a woman with long, blonde hair, wearing a green dress with detached sleeves and a brown shawl around her shoulders. Next to her is a little girl, around a year younger than the boy, wearing a long yellow skirt and a white blouse, and she has short black hair with a pair of white bows in them. Both of the children have matching dragon necklaces around their necks, except one has a blue gem in it while the other one has a golden gem in it.

"We'll be fine, Jade. We'll only be away for a few days," the man says.

"Then I expect you to be back in a few days, Azraq. Otherwise, it would be a waste to cook so much food for you when the two of you get back later than you said you would," Jade Ryu says, hands on her hips.

The children start laughing a bit, while the man chuckles nervously.

"Now, then, you listen to your father on this trip, okay Khazhak?" Jade asks.

"Yes, mother," Khazhak replies.

Jade walks up and kisses Azraq on the lips, making the children gag, and then leans down to kiss Khazhak on the cheek.

"Keep each other safe, okay?" Jade says, and Khazhak nods.

"Come back soon, okay big brother," a younger Voshkie'ahk says.

"Sure thing, Voshkie," Khazhak replies.

The siblings hug each other, and then the father and son head out into the wilderness for their little training trip.

…

A few days later, Jade is cooking in the kitchen at home, preparing dinner for herself and Voshkie'ahk. However, she then hears the front door open and close and in walks Voshkie'ahk, carrying what looks to be an injured fox in her arms.

"Voshkie, sweety, what are you doiing with that fox?" Jade asks as she walks to her daughter.

"I found him outside our house, mother. I think his leg is broken. Is there anything we can do to help him?" Voshkieahk asks, worried for the poor creature.

Jade kneels down to them, "Oh, the poor thing. Bring him to the table and we'll see what we can do. I'll go get the medical supplies from the bathroom," she says.

"Okay," Voshkie'ahk says. She gently places the fox on the table while her mother leaves to get the first aid. Voshkie'ahk slowly pets the fox on the head. "It'll be okay, little guy. We'll help you get all better," she says, and the fox purrs in response, making her smile.

A moment later, Jade returns with the medical stuff, "Alright then, let's see what we can do," she says.

They see the fox with a large gash on his left hind leg. Jade works to clean and seal the wound, wrapping it up and checks for other injuries. She then works on another injury on its left side.

"What happened to you? It doesn't look like another animal attack. The wounds are too smooth, too clean for that," Jade mutters.

"Will he be okay, Mother?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"He'll be just fine, dear," Jade replies.

After making sure the fox is past the worst of it, Jade brings him to the couch in the living room to rest.

"Leave him be so he can get some rest. Head back to the kitchen, Voshkie'ahk. We'll check on him in a little while," Jade says. They go to head back to the kitchen, but Jade hears a knock at the door. "Ah. That must be Azraq and Khazhak. I told him not to be gone too late this time. Your father is getting a talk from me," she says and goes to the door. Voshkie'ahk waits in the kitchen, but suddenly she hears her mother gasp. "Wait, what are you-AHH!" she hears her mother scream and sees her come flying onto the floor in the kitchen.

"Mother!" Voshkie'ahk yells and runs to her.

The fox from the living room tries to help and she hears it growling at something, only for it to suddenly start squealing and then yelp in pain before there was nothing.

"Voshkie'ahk, you must hide! This way, quickly!" Jade says with urgency and leads Voshkie'ahk to the cabinets under the sink. "Do not come out until I tell you to, and do NOT make a sound, okay?" Jade says as she pushes Voshkie'ahk into the cabinet and closes the door.

However, Voshkie'ahk peeks through the crack in the door and sees her mother run off, followed by a figure in a dark cloak and a black sword on his back, calmly walking after her. Voshkie'ahk shakes with fear as she tries to remain quiet. She hears some crashing sounds going on, and a moment later, she sees her mother fall back onto the floor, blood dripping down her nose.

"You're not... supposed to be here," Jade says in between pained gasps.

The figure grabs her by the neck with their left hand and hoists her up, starting to choke her to death. Eventually, Voshkie'ahk sees her mother's struggle to breathe end as her arms fall to her sides and she stops moving entirely. The figure tosses her to the floor, in front of Voshkie'ahk. Voshkie'ahk does her best to keep quiet, even as tears fall from her eyes, and looks through the crack, to see the figure smirking down at her dead mother, the hood of the cloak masking his face. He then pulls out a red Dust crystal and tosses it into the living room. He then throws a kitchen knife at it, and it explodes, causing a fire to start spreading across the house. The figure leaves the burning home, and Voshkie'ahk comes out of the cabinet to check on her mother.

"Mother? Mother! Please, wake up!" Voshkie'ahk shakes her mother's body to no avail.

"Jade? Jade! Azraq!" Voshkie'ahk hears a new male voice call out and looks to see a man with a red cloak and a gray dress shirt rush into the house. "Jade!" he yells as he finds the pair in the kitchen.

"Leave my mother alone!" Voshkie'ahk cries.

"What? Kid, I'm a friend of your parents. I'm here to help," the man says and kneels down to check her mother for a pulse, but finds nothing.

"I'm sorry, kid. She's gone," the man sorrowfully says.

The girl shakes her head and freaks out, "No, no, no! She can't be gone! She can't! She can't! She can't!" Voshkie'ahk cries.

"I'm sorry kid, but she's gone," the man says and then part of the ceiling behind them falls to the floor. "We have to go. I'm sorry kid!" the man says as he picks Voshkie'ahk up and runs out of the house with her.

"Mother!" Voshkie'ahk yells as she reaches for her mother's body without success.

They exit the burning building and look as the house is fully consumed in flames. The man looks on at the fire before looking to the girl in his arms, crying her eyes out.

…

"And you're sure you couldn't find Azraq or his son?" Professor Ozpin asks.

"I'm afraid not. Grimm were crawling all over the place shortly after I got out of the house. I just... I don't know if they're still alive out there," the man, Qrow Branwen, says.

They are at Beacon Academy, in the headmaster's office, discussing the incident. Ozpin and Qrow converse amongst themselves while Professor Goodwitch tends to Voshkie'ahk, her eyes still slightly red from crying, even though the incident happened only a few days ago.

"Do you believe the Grimm were responsible for the attack?" Ozpin asks.

"No, they only started showing up shortly after we got out of the house. It wasn't them," Qrow replies.

"It wasn't the Grimm," Voshkie'ahk says, gaining their attention. "It was a person in a black cloak with a black sword. He killed my mother and burned my house down. That's who did it," Voshkie'ahk says, sniffling a bit.

The men approach the girl and Ozpin kneels before her, "I am terribly sorry for your loss, Miss Ryu. Rest assured, we will find out who did this to your family, and you have my word that we will do everything we can to care for you. Azraq was a good friend of mine, even though he never went to Beacon Academy," Ozpin says.

Voshkie'ahk cleans up her face, "I want... to fight," she declares.

"Excuse me?" Qrow asks.

"I want to become a warrior, like my father and what my big brother was going to be. I want to become a huntress," Voshkie'ahk states.

"Young lady, there's no need to push yourself. You just experienced a tragic loss. There's no reason for you to put yourself through even more pain," Goodwitch tries to dissuade her.

"No! My family comes from a long line of warriors. I can't just let that legacy die with them. I will become a warrior in my brother's place. Please, you must train me!" Voshkie'ahk all but begs.

The adults look between each other, a silent conversation between them.

Ozpin looks back to Voshkie'ahk, "Are you sure you want to do this? This is your choice, but you should know that there are other options for you," he asks.

"I have no other choice. This is my only path now. Teach me to become a huntress," Voshkie'ahk says.

"...Very well," Ozpin says.

 _...A few years later..._

Voshkie'ahk and her master, Qrow Branwen, are in Mistral, on a mission to locate the Spring Maiden. Over time, Qrow and Ozpin eventually told Voshkie'ahk about the Relics and the Maidens, and Salem. Right now, Voshkie'ahk is wearing a pair of black pants, white shirt under a gray jacket, and a gray scarf around her neck. Her black hair has grown out, almost reaching her waist, but it's a little unkept and messy (much like Qrow's hair). She has a pair of deck holders on her hips with her Dust cards. Since her family's demise, Voshkie'ahk has been training under the eyes of Qrow and Goodwitch, and has already become a skilled warrior at such a young age. If her father and brother were here, they would be proud. However, as they're walking through the streets of Mistral, something unexpected happens.

"Oh no, this simply will not do," a female voice calls out.

Voshkie'ahk turns around and freezes in her tracks for some reason. Standing before her is a beautifuk young woman with long purple hair reaching halfway down her back. She is wearing a purple kimono with white flower petals and flying swans decorated around the kimono. She has a hair golden hair pin in her hair, keeping some bangs out of her eyes. To Voshkie'ahk, for some reason, this girl was absolutely mesmerizing.

"What on Remnant are you wearing?" the woman asks.

"Um... my clothes," Voshkie'ahk replies nervously.

"If you were a boy, then I'd be fine with that, but not for a lady," the woman says.

"Well, I am a huntress-in-training, so frilly clothes aren't exactly going to work for what I do," Voshkie'ahk replies.

The woman smirks, "Well, that won't be a problem. Come with me," the woman says and takes Voshkie'ahk's hand in hers and pulls her along down the street.

While Voshkie'ahk would normally pull away, the feeling of this woman's hand on hers has her thinking twice, and blushing a pretty pink.

Eventually, Qrow turns around and finds Voshkie'ahk nowhere to be seen.

"Voshkie'ahk?" Qrow mutters.

…

After spending some time in a clothing store, Voshkie'ahk and the woman come out, though Voshkie'ahk is now in a new outfit. She is wearing a pair of white knee-high heeled boots, black leggings, a short white skirt with gold edging, a gold-colored belt, a gold-colored sleeveless shirt under a white jacket with a short gold fur collar around her neck, and a long tail segment that reaches her ankles.. Her hair is now in much better shape, and she has on a pair of white ribbons strapped around some locks of her hair. Her dragon necklace and her deck holders are seen clear as day. She also has a pair of bags with other clothes for her, bought and paid for by the mysterious woman.

"There, now that's much better. There's no reason that you can't wear something that's both combat appropriate and fashionable at the same time. You look much more beautiful now," the woman says.

"I don't know if this stuff suits me," Voshkie'ahk laments.

"Oh, don't be silly. You look wonderful, darling," the woman says.

"But, why did you do this for me?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"Because it's not right for a lady as beautiful as yourself to be seen in such a vulgar manner," the woman says, making Voshkie'ahk blush. "My name is Yukari Hakucho. And you are?" Yukari asks.

"My name is Voshkie'ahk. Voshkie'ahk Ryukado," Voshkie'ahk introduces herself.

"Voshkie'ahk, huh. Well then..." Yukari says as she pulls out a piece of paper and writes something on it before handing it to Voshkie'ahk. "Here, give me a call sometime," she says.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

"So that way we can go out and get something to eat together sometime," Yukari says.

Voshkie'ahk blushes again, "Wait, are you... asking me out on a date?" she asks.

Yukari leans close and cups her chin in her hand, "There's no way I'm leaving a pretty girl like you to some vulgar dogs that want what's beneath your skirt. So, what do you say?" Yukari asks.

Voshkie'ahk would originally say no, but this girl gives her such a strange feeling, and yet... she wants to explore more of this feeling.

"Um, sure. Sounds good," Voshkie'ahk says, her mouth becoming a little dry.

"Excellent. Then it's a date," Yukari says.

"Voshkie'ahk!" they hear and look to see Qrow walking towards them. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Where have you been? What are you wearing? And who is this?" Qrow asks.

"Um, well, I-," Voshkie'ahk stutters.

Yukari gets in between the two of them, "Is this your father, darling?" Yukari asks.

"He's my mentor actually," Voshkie'ahk replies.

"Obviously, not a good one. At least when it comes to wearing appropriate clothing for a lady," Yukari says, hands on her hips, and then she smells the alcohol and gags. "Ugh, you smell like an old, ragged bar that's about to get shut down," she notes with disgust.

"He's always drunk," Voshkie'ahk deadpans.

"Look, I don't really know who you are, but we've got important business, so if you don't mind, beat it," Qrow tells her.

"Oh, and let you corrupt this perfect angel even further. As if I'm going to let that happen. I know huntsmen are supposed to be tough, but neither that nor your revolting breath will scare me away from Voshkie'ahk. So, as of right now, her wellbeing is now my responsibility.

"Wait, what?! Voshkie'ahk exclaims, blushing again.

The two then have a stare down and Voshkie'ahk could tell that things were about to get interesting for her... and more irritating.

 _...Over a year later..._

 **"Are you sure about this, my child,"** Tiamat asks.

"Yes, Tiamat. I have to see for myself. I have to know it's him," Voshkie'ahk replies.

Voshkie'ahk is standing on a balcony at Beacon Academy, wearing a new outfit this time **(the one she wore during the Beacon Arc)**. Professor Ozpin told her that he met a young man named Khazhak Rairyu and his teammates, and Voshkie'ahk believes it may be her brother, alive. She sees the airship with the new academy students docking at the landing pads. Soon enough, the doors open and Voshkie'ahk uses her scroll to zoom in and get a closer look at the new students exiting the airship. Eventually, she finds a boy with short blonde hair, wearing black and blue clothing, and carrying a pair of swords on his hips. Though she hasn't seen him in so long, Voshkie'ahk recognizes him from the start.

"Khazhak... It IS him. My brother," Voshkie'ahk mutters with relief and joy.

However, that joy quickly changes to worry when she sees the expression on Khazhak's face, and the lack of a smile or joy in his eyes like he used to have.

"Khazzy... What happened to you?" Voshkie'ahk mutters with fear.

 **"Are you alright, Voshkie'ahk?"** Tiamat asks.

"Yes, but... It's Khazhak, but he's... changed so much. I can't see the old Khazhak in there. He's not the same Khazhak I remember. I don't... I don't know how to face him now," Voshkie'ahk says.

 **"Don't you want to see him, my child?"** Tiamat asks.

"Yes, more than anything, but... I can't just spring up on him. Not like this. Not after seeing how much he's changed. I need to face him, but only when the time is right," Voshkie'ahk decides as she solemnly heads back inside before she is seen by anyone.

 _...Present day..._

Voshkie'ahk and Yukari sleep in Yukari's room, peacefully resting within each other's arms under the bed sheets after having an interesting night together. A night where they completely gave themselves to each other. Voshkie'ahk's eyes flutter open and a few seconds later, Yukari's eyes open up as well, and they smile at each other.

"Good morning, darling," Yukari says.

"Good morning, Yukari," Voshkie'ahk replies.

"That was definitely a... wonderful night, wouldn't you say?" Yukari asks.

"Yes, and I'm glad I got to have it with you," Voshkie'ahk replies.

They lean in and share a loving kiss for a few seconds before separating.

"My only concern is how your brother is going to react if he heard us," Yukari notes.

Voshkie'ahk's eyes widen. Uh oh. Khazhak is NOT going to like this.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. So now we got to see what happened to Voshkie'ahk's home and mother, how she joined Ozpin's group, how she met Yukari, and saw her brother again after so long. The next chapter will start the volume 6 segment of this story. What awaits our heroes as they begin their journey to Argus, and then to Atlas? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	99. Chapter 94: Argus Limited

**Here we are at Chapter 94, and the start of Volume 6 for the story. Time for Khazhak and his friends to begin their journey to Argus, and then on to Atlas. There may not be too many filler chapters in this story, but I do have a few surprises in store for this volume. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 94. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 94: Argus Limited**

 _...In Mistral..._

At a train station in Mistral, Khazhak, Ruby, and their friends are all gathered together as they prepare to embark on their train to Argus, while watching all the civilians in the busy train station go about their business. Meanwhile, Qrow goes over a letter he wrote for General Ironwood.

 _"It's been two weeks since the attack on Haven. The official report states that the plot to destroy Mistral's CCT Tower was thwarted by Ghira Belladonna and the Faunus militia group from Menagerie. A Huntsman and some students coincidentally visiting the headmaster were also able to lend some assistance. Unfortunately, Leonardo Lionheart lost his life while trying to defend his school. And those responsible for organizing the attack managed to escape. As I'm sure you can guess, there's a lot more to this report than I'm willing to say in this letter. But for now, what I'm trying to say is that we're on our way to Atlas, James. There's a good chance we'll get there before this letter does, but in case we don't, I need you to know that we're bringing a lot more than bad news with us. See you soon, Qrow. P.S. Khazhak and his team will be coming with us as well, so make sure you and your students don't do anything to piss them off. They're a lot stronger than the last time you saw them, and I won't be held responsible if something happens,"_ Qrow goes over the letter before putting it in a mail box. However, Ruby suddenly comes by, pulling Khazhak by his hand and bumping into him. "Whoa, hey, what's with all of the running?" he asks.

"Don't look at me," Khazhak retorts.

"What's with all of the standing? It's almost time! Let's go, Khazhak!" Ruby says.

"Hey!" Khazhak yells as he gets pulled along.

 **"She's full of energy today,"** Bahamut notes.

"What else is new?" Khazhak rhetorically replies.

Ruby then lets him go and uses her semblance to fly by the civilians while grabbing something along the way. She then ends up with the rest of the group, acting all giddy and humming happily.

"Did I miss something?" Lloyd asks.

"Well?" Yang asks.

"Ta-da!" Ruby cheers, showing a bag in her hands.

"What did you get me?!" Yang eagerly asks.

"You'll have to wait and see," Ruby teases her.

Yang starts making a grab for the bag, and she and Ruby fight over control of it.

"What an absolute waste of time, right Reaper?" Weiss says, only to see Reaper with a bag of his own in his hands. "What is that?" she deadpans at him.

Reaper quickly tries to hide the bag, "Oh, um, nothing," he says nervously as she stares at him.

Khazhak finally catches up to them, "Way to leave me high and dry back there, little rose," he mutters.

"Oh, sorry Khazhak, almost forgot about you," Ruby says while keeping the bag away from Yang.

"Anyway, you guys ready to go?" Khazhak asks his teammates.

"I'm all ready to go," Porphyrius replies.

"Same here," Lloyd adds.

"As am I," Reaper says, happy that Weiss isn't glaring at him anymore for the time being.

Just then, Nora pops in between them, "This is awesome! We're taking a train to Argus! That's on the northern coastline, right? I wonder if it's too early for beach season?" Nora wonders.

Hearing this makes Yang think of seeing Porphyrius in a swimsuit, and Porphyrius thinking of Yang in a bikini, making them both blush. However, Ren gets them back into reality.

"Unfortunately, no, but we will be one step closer to Atlas," Ren says.

Hearing this, Lloyd gets all grumpy, "Hooray," he dryly says, hunching over.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Lloyd. I understand that we have to go to Atlas, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I don't think you all appreciate all the trouble I went through to get out of Atlas," Weiss notes.

Reaper places a hand on hers, "Don't worry, Weiss. We'll all be right by your side every step of the way, and so will I," he comforts her, making her smile.

"Thank you, Reaper," Weiss says.

"No one's gonna be worried with us around," a new male voice says and they look to the side to see a pair of huntsmen walk towards them.

One has shoulder length brown hair, wearing a dark, dull blue jacket over a black shirt, pants, and a brown belt and pair of brown gloves, wielding a mace in his right hand. The other has brown hair swept back into a short ponytail, with a short beard, and is wearing a blue vest over a shirt with rolled-up sleeves, a brown belt, black pants, and black fingerless gloves while holding a rifle in his left hand.

"Who are these guys?" Lloyd asks.

"I'm Dee, and this is Dudley. The Argus Limited's very own huntsmen. We'll be making sure everyone stays safe on this little trip," the one called Dee says.

"But for a generous tip, we can make sure your train car gets extra special attention should things get dangerous," Dudley adds.

The pair wink at Ruby, Weiss, and Yang, quickly earning growls from their respective boyfriends.

"What a small pair of men," Khazhak notes, loudly enough so they can hear him.

"What was that? You'd better watch your mouth, you little-," Dudley begins.

"You want a tip? I got one for ya," Qrow suddenly says as he walks over to them. "Buzz off, and don't go picking fights you can't win. Hmph, looks like Mistral's been scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to huntsmen," Qrow notes as he stands between the two fools and the rest of the group, while Ruby and Yang start mocking them from behind Qrow's back.

"Hey! You're talking to a-," Dee begins.

"A professional huntsman, I know," Qrow interrupts him again, showing his own huntsman ID. "Well, if you're professionals, then maybe one of you can explain why you left the staff door to the caboose wide open. Be a real shame for you to lose your job before it even started," Qrow says.

The pair look to the left, and see that Qrow speaks the truth. Dee then looks at Dudley.

"I-I didn't do it, I swear!" Dudley argues.

Dee scoffs, "Come on, let's go, dummy," he says and the pair leave.

 **"Glad I ended up with you and not a fool like those two,"** Bahamut notes, making Khazhak grunt in amusement.

 _"I do hope those weren't Beacon graduates,"_ Ozpin mentally says, making Oscar laugh a bit.

"You know, sometimes the burden of saving the world feels overwhelming. But, then I see guys like that, and I think that I'm glad that it's us and not them," Oscar says,making everyone nod in agreement.

Khazhak crosses his arms, "Agreed. If we left the fate of the world to morons like them, humanity would've gone extinct a long time ago," Khazhak notes.

"Anyway, we all ready to go?" Qrow asks.

"Yep. Bumblebee is all loaded up as well. Just waiting on Blake and Voshkie'ahk now," Yang says.

Khazhak looks off to the distance to see Voshkie'ahk talking with Yukari.

"It's a shame you're leaving now. I would've loved for you to stay a bit longer," Yukari pouts.

"I know, Yukari, but we need to get going. We have an important mission. But, someday, I'll be back to see you again. I promise," Voshkie'ahk says.

Yukari stares at her for a moment and then pulls something out from behind. She takes Voshkie'ahk's left hand and, to her girlfriend's surprise, puts a ring on her ring finger. The ring is silver with a purple swan symbol in the center.

"Yukari..." Voshkie'ahk mutters.

"I want you to hold onto that for now. But, I want you to bring it back to me, okay? Promise me you'll bring it back," Yukari says, getting a little serious now.

Voshkie'ahk smiles and takes Yukari's hands in her own, "Okay, I promise. I love you, Yukari," she says.

"I love you too, Voshkie darling," Yukari replies and share a loving kiss.

Meanwhile, Blake has a talk with Ilia in another spot. Thanks to Yukari, Ilia is now wearing a new outfit. She is wearing a short black tailjacket with two tails, a gold zipper, buckle, buttons to keep the sleeves rolled up in place, and a white interior. She is also wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt that exposes her midriff, maroon jean pants, black sneakers with white mid-wedges and two straps and a black matching wristband.

"I must admit, that new outfit suits you," Blake notes.

Ilia glances at her attire, "I can't say I enjoyed the experience of Yukari practically violating my entire body, but at least the results aren't so bad. Aside from that, are you sure it was okay for me to have the freedom your family granted me? I feel like I don't deserve it after what I did," Ilia says.

"Well, you'll just have to get used to it. Thanks to the Faunus helping to save Haven, people are viewing Faunus in Mistral a lot more favorably now. It'll be up to you guys to keep that momentum going," Blake says.

"Right. The White Fang may have been a failure, but with your father starting up a new movement, I've got more faith than ever before. You and Porphyrius helped me realize a lot of things," Ili says and then gives Blake a warm hug which she returns. "Thank you, Blake, for everything. I wish you didn't have to go," Ilia says as they separate, tearing up a bit.

"I know, but my friends need me. We're going to track down the people responsible for the attack on Haven and the fall of Beacon. I've been running away from my problems for too long now. It's time to stop running and to start being there for the people that need me," Blake says.

"Well, with guys like Porphyrius around, I know you'll have some strong backup. Hey, I know your parents already saw you off, but where's-?" Ilia begins.

"Sun? Oh, he's right here!" Sun Wukong suddenly says as he appears a few feet behind them. "What? You didn't think I was gonna miss your big send-off, did you?" Sun says, only for Neptune Vasilias to suddenly pop up from behind him.

"He definitely overslept and absolutely almost missed this," Neptune says, making Sun growl at him, and also making Blake laugh.

"Hey, Blake. Now, You Sun, would you hurry up? Need I remind you we have our own trip to plan?" Neptune says, only to spot Ilia and goes into womanizer mode. "Oh, I didn't know Ilia was gonna be here. I'll, uh, I'll give you two a moment... Hey, almost didn't see you there, 'cause, you know, the camouflage?" Neptune says as he walks away to flirt with Ilia.

Blake helplessly reaches her hand out to stop Neptune, but fails to while Sun shakes his head.

"Wrong tree..." Blake mutters.

"He'll figure it out. Eventually," Sun notes.

"So, you're really going to Vacuo?" Blake asks.

"That's right! Seeing you reunited with the rest of Team RWBY and Team KEPL really made me realize something - I'm like the worst team leader ever. Me and the boys were cool with a little hiatus, but we gotta make up for lost time. Shade Academy's not dealing with any problems like Haven right now. Plus, that means I can show the guys around my old stomping grounds!" Sun explains.

"I have to admit, I think I was kind of getting used to having you around," Blake notes.

"Hey, I knew you needed my help in order to get out of the funk you were in before after Beacon. But now... you don't need me anymore," Sun says.

Hearing this makes Blake frown, "Well, when you say it like that, it sounds sad," Blake says.

Sun puts a reassuring hand on Blake's shoulder, "Look... despite the drama and the fighting and the numerous attempts on my life, I had a lot of fun! But you're with who you're supposed to be now. Porphyrius and I just reminded you of where you need to be, and who you need to be with. With your teammates and his olfd pals, I know you'll be fine," Sun says.

The two look down at the floor below them to see Blake's friends.

Blake then smiles again, "Sun... I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough. I'm still-," Blake begins.

"You're still working a lot of things out, I know. But you can do it with them. And in the future, who knows? I've got a feeling you haven't seen the last of me," Sun says as he shows off a bit.

"I certainly hope not. Goodbye for now, Sun," Blake says and out of the blue, she goes up and kisses Sun on the cheek.

After saying goodbye to Blake, Sun and Neptune walk down some stairs to head their own way.

Neptune sighs, "I don't know, man. It just feels like you're letting her go," he says.

"It was never about that, brainiac. Besides, now that your leader's back and hardened from battle, I've gotta focus all of my time into getting you boys ready for the wastelands!" Sun retorts, making Neptune groan. "And besides, what about you and Weiss?" Sun asks.

Neptune looks over to see Weiss with Reaper, and notices their hands clasped together, seeing that he lost his chance a long time ago.

"Yeah, I feel it's better this way. As long as she's got someone to be there for her, and she's happy, then I'm happy. Besides, there are plenty of fish in the sea," Neptune tries to stay positive.

"Yeah, too bad you won't go in the water to find them," Sun jokes, making Neptune growl at him.

The group then head off to board their train, while Yukari waves them goodbye. After they board their train, Yukari gets an idea.

"Atlas, huh," Yukari mutters, hand on her chin as thoughts begin to form in her mind.

…

A little later, the train to Argus is already on its way down a snowy mountainside. The members of Teams RWBY and KEPL are given rooms similar to their old rooms from Beacon, but only some of them are using the rooms right now. Currently, Weiss is with Reaper as they walk through another train car to find some snacks.

"You know, I never really asked, but how did you learn how to wield a twin-scythe? Weiss asks, striking up a conversation.

"Hmm, well, I actually had someone teach me how to wield a scythe, similar to how Ruby learned from her uncle. My mentor was a retired huntress and had left the battlefield a long time ago. We met not too long after I moved to Mistral, and through some coaxing, she agreed to teach me. However, one day, she suddenly left, and I was forced to continue my training on my own. The old hag was silent for an old person," Reaper explains.

"Huh, how come you never told me this before?" Weiss asks.

"You never asked before," Reaper replies, making her pout a bit, making him chuckle.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Khazhak are sitting on her bed, reading a book together, while Porphyrius and Yang are watching some videos on her scroll, and Blake is reading a book of her own. In Team KEPL's room, Lloyd and Voshkie'ahk work on their weapons.

"So, since you're Khazhak's sister, should I call you 'little sister' or 'sis'? I mean, I am like his brother after all," Lloyd asks.

This gets Voshkie'ahk's attention, "Huh? Where did that come from?" she asks.

"It's just that we're basically one big family, so I thought I should ask," Lloyd says.

Voshkie'ahk frowns a bit and looks out the window, "I would prefer it if you just called me Voshkie'ahk for now," she says.

Lloyd frowns now, "Did I overstep?" he asks.

Voshkie'ahk shakes her head, "No, the thought was nice. It's just... complicated right now," she says.

Lloyd walks over and puts a supportive hand on her shoulder, "Well, no worries. If you ever need some help, you can always count on me. Besides, I still see you as family," Lloyd says, showing his signature smile.

The kind gesture actually makes Voshkie'ahk smile a bit, "Thanks Lloyd," she says. Suddenly, the train jolts and they look up. "What was that?" she wonders.

"I'll give you three guesses," Lloyd says, getting serious.

…

The group all head outside with their weapons, climbing onto the roof of the train cars, only to see a large flock of Manticore Grimm flying all around the train. They see Dee and Dudley on another train car, already fighting the Grimm. However, a larger Sphinx Grimm lands farther down, letting out a loud, monstrous roar at them. Dee charges up electricity into his club and takes a swing at it, only for a Manticore Grimm to fly by and grab him, taking him into the forest below to his demise.

"DEE!" Dudley shouts.

"Well, that's not a surprise," Khazhak shakes his head as he readies his blade. "So, what's the plan, little rose?" he asks.

Ruby readies her scythe, "Make sure no one else dies," she says.

The group jump into the fray, with Khazhak making the first move as he charges up his sword and swings it wide with his Lightning Oblivion technique taking out several flying Manticores in the air. The Grimm turn their attention towards the group and converge on them. Ruby fires off a shot from her scythe, hitting one Manticore, but then another one comes flying in at her. However, a pair of red skull phantoms fly in and knock it into the mountainside before they disappear. She looks back to see Reaper and Weiss, waving to them in thanks. Weiss then sees Reaper put on his mask.

"Why do you need that? You can breathe now right?" Weiss asks.

"Yes, but I've been fighting with it on for so long, that it feels weird to not have it on like this. It's a work in progress," Reaper replies.

A Manticore Grimm comes in from behind, but Reaper swings his twin-scythe behind him to knock it back, followed by Weiss conjuring up some glyphs and firing ice shards at it, skewering the Grimm dead. Meanwhile, Yang throws a right uppercut into one Manticore, knocking it into the air, only for Lloyd to come in with a double jump kick in mid-air to its face, sending it falling down into the forest below.

"It never gets easy for us," Lloyd mutters.

He looks up to see another Manticore Grimm land in front of him, and charges at him. Lloyd activates his semblance and throws a hard right punch into its face, shattering some of its teeth. He then makes several swings of his claws at its face before finishing it off by grabbing its skull and crushing it into pieces, the body falling off the side of the train. Further back, Porphyrius fires off his rifles at the Manticore flying around them, taking out several of them. One Grimm lands behind him, but he uses his semblance to force it onto its stomach. Blake then comes in, spinning in the air with her swords as she beheads the subdued Grimm. The pair watch the body dissipate into smoke before focusing back on the others. Meanwhile, Oscar opens up a window from his train car to see all the commotion.

 _"Shall I?"_ Ozpin asks.

"No, I'm staying in control," Oscar says as he moves, only to bump into Jaune, Ren, and Nora.

"What's going on?" Jaune asks.

Oscar is about to tell him, only for another jolt to scare the passengers again, making them scream in fear. Getting his answer, Jaune looks to the group and nods to them. Back outside, Khazhak jumps into the air to punch a Manticore in the face with his left hand, staggering it. Qrow then comes in and slices the Grimm's body in two with his blade. The pair nod to each other, only to hear a pair of Manticores roaring above them as the fly down. However, both are taken out by a few fire Dust cards, and the pair look back to see Voshkie'ahk with her cards out. She nods to them, and they return the gesture before getting back into the fight. Khazhak fires off a few spark shots at one Grimm, only for another to take its place. The Grimm lands and roars at him, but Khazhak only cracks his neck, unimpressed.

 **"Was that supposed to intimidate us?"** Bahamut rhetorically asks.

"Well, it leaves much to be desired," Khazhak replies.

The Manticore charges at Khazhak, but he charges up lightning in his left arm and throws an uppercut into its skull, knocking it into the air. He then charges lightning into his sword and swings it, launching his Lightning Slash technique that destroys the Grimm. As the fighting continues, Qrow goes to deal with the Sphinx Grimm, keeping it at bay. He notices Dudley running up to the front of the train and takes out his scroll to activate the train's defense systems. Armored doors fold down on all of the windows and turrets pop out of the top of the cars and begin firing at the airborne Grimm.

"Aw yeah!" Dudley cheers.

"That fool. He's only drawing the Grimm closer to the cars, and the passengers," Reaper notes to Weiss.

Qrow swings his scythe around at the Sphinx, but it reels back to try and crush him under its paw. However, Voshkie'ahk throws a few electricity Dust cards at the Grimm, stunning it.

 **"This situation is growing worse by the moment, my child,"** Tiamat says.

"Yeah. That idiot calls himself a huntsman? What a joke?" Voshkie'ahk mutters.

She goes to help her master, creating a pair of card swords to fight the Sphinx Grimm. Meanwhile, the members of Team JNPR and Oscar are on another car, fighting a few more Grimm off.

"Why is it always something?!" Nora yells as she fires her grenade launcher.

Ruby twirls her scythe around, fighting off one Manticore Grimm, managing to slice its head in half as the body falls off the train. Another tries to ambush her from behind, only for Khazhak to appear as he shoves his sword through the top of its skull. He jumps off the body and kicks it off the train.

"Thanks, Khazhak," Ruby says, and he nods in reply. However, she then notices the Grimm jumping off the train and flying back into the air. "What are they doing?" she wonders.

Khazhak's eyes widen, "Oh, crap," he mutters.

"TUNNEL!" they hear Oscar shout out, confirming his suspicions as they look ahead to see a tunnel coming up, fast.

Khazhak grabs Ruby by her hand and jumps down in between two of the cars, as does the rest of the group. They regroup in one of the cars, but find Dudley with his left arm broken, screaming in pain.

"What happened?!" Ruby asks, horrified.

"Someone was as slow as he is stupid," Lloyd notes.

Qrow walks up and picks up Dudley by his shirt, "I told you to turn those turrets off, you idiot!" he yells as he shoves him into a wall.

"Those turrets are keeping us alive!" Dudley argues, groaning in pain.

"Us, sure, but their drawing the Grimm towards the passengers and putting them in danger!" Qrow retorts as he lets Dudley go.

"I'm the one that was hired for this mission! I'm in charge here!" Dudley yells.

Khazhak then comes in, grabbing him by the neck and shoving him back into the wall.

"Your partner is DEAD. Your turrets will eventually get destroyed one-by-one, and those Grimm aren't going to leave us alone anytime soon. So as far as I'm concerned, you're not in charge of ANYTHING! We're in charge now," Khazhak tells him.

"You little punk, who do you think-," Dudley begins before Khazhak punches him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him as he falls onto his knees.

"I'd rather be a little punk than an egotistical fool like you," Khazhak says as he turns away.

Ruby looks out the window to see the Grimm following them through the tunnel. She then looks back to the scared passengers before getting an idea and walks up to Dudley as Oscar helps him up.

"Look, just shot off the turrets. Please," Ruby politely asks.

"Trust us. We know what we're doing," Jaune adds as he uses his aura to help heal Dudley's injury.

Dudley looks between them and then sighs, "Fine, I'll shut them off," he says.

Ruby nods, "Ren, can you use your semblance to mask everyone on the train? With the turrets off and the emotions hidden, the Grimm might leave us alone," Ruby suggests.

"Hm, I don't know. I've never done it on so many people at once before," Ren says.

"You might with Jaune's help. His aura will amplify yours, thus strengthening your semblance," Porphyrius says.

"Yeah, that could work," Reaper says.

 _"May I add something?"_ Ozpin asks mentally. Oscar nods and allows Ozpin to take control of his body. "I'm afraid there's one complication... The Grimm are also attracted to this," Ozpin says, gesturing to the Relic of Knowledge on his hip.

"What's that?" Dudley asks.

"None of your business. Oz, are you serious?" Qrow asks.

"Why wouldn't you tell us that?!" Yang says, getting angry.

Before Ozpin can say, Khazhak interrupts him, "Yang, we don't have time for this right now. We need to focus on getting these passengers to safety," he says, and Yang crosses her arms.

"Khazhak is right. Every second we're on board this train, we're putting everyone else in danger. Get the passengers to the front cars, you'll still mask the emotions and kill the turrets... we just can't come with you. If we cut the back cars with us and the Relic on them, we can deal with the Grimm. You just make sure the rest of the train makes it safely to Argus," Ruby tells Jaune, Ren, and Nora.

Upon hearing this, Jaune finishes up healing Dudley's arm and walks over to Ruby and Khazhak with a conflicted expression.

"...Only if you'll promise you'll meet us there," Jaune asks, knowing that he can't stop them.

Khazhak nods and Ruby smiles, "Promise," she says.

With that, Team JNPR begins evacuating all of the passengers to the front half of the train. Outside, the turrets are shut off. Blake and Porphyrius jump down and decouple the train, allowing the front half to continue forward. When Blake looks up, she notices a hooded figure resembling Adam in front of her on the next train car. Blake prepares for a fight, but then realizes that no one is there and it was just her imagination.

"You okay?" Porphyrius asks.

Blake sighs, "I'm okay," she says. before jumping back up to the top of the train with him behind her.

Ruby is seen a few train cars down looking at her scroll, which shows portraits of her teammates and Nora, the latter's signal low compared to the rest. Ruby looks back up and notices the Manticores and Sphinx exiting the tunnel and taking flight once again. The Sphinx lands on the train.

"Now!" Ruby yells to Nora on the scroll.

Nora gets Ruby's message and gives the okay to Jaune and Ren. The two boys combine their abilities, with Jaune enhancing Ren's Aura to the point where the entire front half of the train is grayed out by Ren's Semblance. Oscar, having taken control again, watches the train as it disappears into the snowstorm, before being attacked by a Manticore. He manages to fend it off temporarily, only for Lloyd to come up and punch the Grimm a few times in the face, knocking it off the train.

"You okay?" Lloyd asks, and Oscar nods.

The members of Teams KEPL and RWBY continue to take out several Manticores one by one. Meanwhile, Qrow is seen struggling against the Sphinx. Ruby and Khazhak see this and look to each other.

"We need to ground it!" Ruby yells.

"Roger that. Porphyrius! Ground it!" Khazhak yells.

"I hear ya!" Porphyrius yells back.

Porphyrius runs up, sliding under and slicing a Manticore through the center of its body, and then activates his semblance to fire some gravity shots at the Sphinx. The shots hit their target and force the Grimm to stay on the train car. Weiss uses her Glyphs to freeze the Sphinx's wings, with Qrow and Ruby shooting at them, shattering them. sThe uncle and niece ready their scythes as the Sphinx prepares to launch one more fireball. Qrow and Ruby launch forward, spinning their scythes together rapidly as they bisect the Sphinx's torso, finishing it off for good. Before it dies however, the Sphinx launches the fireball, destroying the rails in front of the train. Weiss activates her black Glyphs to hold everyone in place as the train derails and crashes into the snow. The back half of the Argus Limited is completely derailed, with the train cars crashed in the snow. Qrow, Oscar, Voshkie'ahk, and Teams RWBY and KEPL all get back up.

"Is everyone okay?" Qrow asks.

"Ugh, still alive. Barely," Lloyd notes.

"I'm fine," Weiss says as Reaper helps her up. "Thank you, Reaper," she says.

"Yeah. I'm okay," Blake adds.

Khazhak helps Ruby up, "Are you okay, Ruby?" he asks as he holds her by the shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Khazhak," Ruby says, kissing his cheek to prove her point.

"Still alive!" a new voice calls out.

Everyone looks up and notices the elderly woman stepping out from the train. The woman has dark skin and long silver hair, which she wears in a single braid down her back. She has a small stature and appears to be hunched over, using a walking stick with a wooden staff with an ornate blue skull on top. She is wearing a full-length dress in the traditional Tabasco style, consisting of a dark blue top with full sleeves and skirt comprised of alternating light and dark blue layers. In addition to her dress, she is wearing thick brown gloves and a heavy blue cloak trimmed at the edges with a pattern of white, hollow triangles on a light blue background. A similar white and blue trim is around the neck of the cloak. The cloak is secured to her shoulders with ornate white pauldrons. She also has on goggle-like prosthetic eyes. The prosthesis is dark gray with cyan colored lenses, each of which is equipped with a set of adjustable shutters capable of mimicking natural expressions. Four rectangular cyan lights create a partial ring on the outer bottom edge of the eyes, while a single cyan nodule on the top outer edge overlaps slightly with each lens. Two small antennae protrude vertically from the upper left side of the prosthesis.

"That sure was a close one, huh?" the old woman says.

Everyone then hear a gasp and look to Reaper as the source, "It can't be..." he mutters in shock.

"Hmm, it's been quite some time, Edom," the woman says.

Reaper just stares at her, "...Mentor?" he says.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. A bit of a long one there, but there was a lot to write in this one. Anyway, Teams KEPL and RWBY's trip to Argus takes an unexpected detour, with a few surprises revealed to all of them. What's more, we now meet someone who is apparently connected to Reaper. What will the group do now to get to Argus? Will they keep the Relic safe? How exactly does Reaper know the old woman? Until then, please Read and Review.**


	100. Chapter 95: Uncovered

**Here we are at Chapter 95. Let's see how the gang deal with the aftermath of the train crash that 'derailed' their journey (I'll let myself out now). Also, I updated part of the last scene from the last because there was something I forgot to add into it. Anyway, I do not own RWBY. They belong to Roosterteeth. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 95. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 95: Pursuit of Knowledge**

"Wait, Reaper, you know this old lady?" Weiss asks.

"Hey, I may be old, but my hearing is still as sharp as ever... At least, some of the time," the old lady retorts.

"Mentor, what are you doing here. I haven't seen you in years!" Reaper exclaims as he takes off his mask.

"It hasn't been THAT long, Edom," the lady says as she walks up to him.

"Reaper, who is this?" Ruby asks.

"Reaper?" the lady asks.

"This is Maria Calavera. She was the one I told you about, Weiss. She is the one who taught me how to wield a scythe in battle. After I moved to Mistral, she took me in and taught me how to wield a scythe to defend myself. I learned how she fought, and then incorporated it into my own, unique fighting style. She is why I use a twin-scythe as my weapon," Reaper explains.

"Wait, this old lady taught you how to fight?" Qrow asks.

"But, she doesn't look like she could fight a newborn puppy," Yang notes, only for Maria to hit her in the shin with her stick. "Ow!" she yells.

"I may be old, but I'm not completely defenseless. I am a retired huntress. Most don't get to be my age in that line of work, so the fact that I have gotten this far should count for something. Now then, Edom, what's with this 'Reaper' nickname they're calling you?" Maria asks.

"Well, um you see-," Reaper says, holding up his mask so Maria can look. "I go by the name Edom Soul Reaper now," he says.

Maria sighs, "Hopeless fool, I taught you how to fight so you could defend yourself, not so you could parade around in a mask like some comic book character. Have you forgotten what I have taught you so easily?" Maria berates him.

"No, Mentor, of course not. It's just... complicated?" Reaper tries to argue.

At this point, Khazhak steps in, "Okay, while this is a 'lovely' reunion between master and student, I feel it would be better saved for another time. We need to gather our supplies and plan our next move. We still need to get to Argus, and it looks like we'll be taking the long way there now," Khazhak says.

"Khazhak is right. Right now, this isn't the place nor the time," Ruby adds.

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" Maria asks.

"Mentor, this is Khazhak Rairyu, my team leader," Reaper says.

"Khazhak..." Maria mutters, staring at him.

"Is there a problem?" Khazhak asks, narrowing his eyes.

Maria shakes out of her stupor, "No, no problem. Fine, let's get on with it," she says.

The group then proceed to begin gathering what supplies they could find. They pick up ammo, a few bags, and a few other supplies. Ruby then finds the Relic of Knowledge in the snow and picks it up, then looks to see Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk checking their weapons while looking out into the forest, making sure no Grimm are nearby. She then hears her sister groaning a bit as she struggles to get her motorcycle out of the snow.

"So we lost a part of our party... We're stranded out in the middle of nowhere... And we pick up Reaper's old, defenseless teacher," Yang says as she finally gets her bike free.

"I told you, I'm not defenseless. I'm just have a little hearing trouble sometimes, and I'm blind without my eyes," Maria says with Oscar next to her, while she checks her eyes. "Which are in need of desperate repair...Okay, I'm starting to see your point," Maria says as she concedes the verbal bout.

 **"And yet, another problem we don't need,"** Bahamut says.

 **"Calm yourself, brother. There's no use in fretting about it now,"** Tiamat adds.

"Um, can we not be arguing out in the open when Grimm could attack us at any time?" Lloyd interjects.

"Lloyd is right, we need to keep our heads cool if we don't want to attract more of them again," Voshkie'ahk agrees.

"Why should that matter? Apparently, we've been attracting Grimm ever since we left Haven," Blake says.

"Oh, yeah. How could we ever forget about THAT? What happened to 'no more lies and half-truths'?" Yang asks, already getting angry.

Oscar faces them, "Yeah, I think it's about time we all got an explanation," he says.

Ozpin then takes control as his eyes glow for a second, "I did not LIE to you..." he defends himself.

"Well, you CERTAINLY didn't tell us the whole truth, especially everything about the Relic," Weiss argues back.

"Please, now is not the time," Ozpin says.

"No, we're way past that! I wanna know why you're STILL not telling us everything!" Yang angrily retorts.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Yang has a point. You need to start talking," Khazhak says.

"It is true that the Grimm are attracted to the Relics. It's faint, but undeniable. I believe it has to do with their origin, but I'm not entirely sure. Regardless, I feared that making you all aware would only add anxiety and negativity. It seemed like the safer option," Ozpin explains.

"And so, you thought you knew what was best for us? In case you forgot, the Atlas military thought the same about me, and look how well that turned for ME!" Lloyd argues.

"Agreed. I told you Ozpin that I don't like it when my comrades are being used as pawns," Khazhak adds.

"Is that why you chose to lie to everyone about Lionheart too?" Yang asks.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I believed the Kingdom of Mistral deserved better than the truth. And I believed Leonardo deserved to be remembered for his lifetime of service, and not for the unfortunate missteps he made in his final years," Ozpin argues back.

"Missteps? He served the huntsmen of Mistral to Salem on a silver platter, helped Cinder and her goons get into the Vytal Festival in order to ruin it, leading to the Fall of Beacon, and he set a trap for us so we would all be killed and he would save his spineless neck!" Lloyd yells.

"What Professor Lionheart did was reprehensible. I am not here to argue differently, but does one lapse in judgment truly negate all of his good? Do we not all have regrets? You may have met Professor Lionheart, but you never met the man he was before Salem found him," Ozpin retorts as they start walking through the snow.

"Look, we're supposed to be in this together. You can trust us! We're not gonna turn our backs on you," Yang says.

"Do you really think Leo was the first?!" Ozpin says, raising his voice as everyone is stunned by his outburst. Ozpin turns to them. "That he didn't say those exact same words to me? I'm sorry, but you have to understand that my behaviors are backed by experience. I'm not saying that I have reason to think you will betray me. I'm saying that I have reasons for the things that I do, the secrets I keep, the reason I... Where's the Relic?" Ozpin suddenly asks, looking around for it.

Ruby raises it in her hands, "Right here. It got scattered in the crash," she says.

Ozpin reaches his hand out to her, "Please, hand it over," he asks.

Ruby, however, hesitates to do so, "So all those times you talked about having faith in humanity, that was just for everyone else? What about you?" she asks.

Ozpin sighs, "That's not what I meant to suggest. Miss Rose, the Relic is a powerful item and I simply feel as though it is my burden to bear," Ozpin tries to reason with her.

"But, you said so yourself; the Relic has no more questions to answer. So, what's the point in deciding who carries it? It's not much use to us right now, correct?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

Ozpin steps forward, "I need you to listen to me-," he begins, but suddenly stops in his position.

"Oz?" Qrow asks, concerned.

"Hurry... he's... trying to stop you!" Oscar says, surprising everyone with his return as he tries to fight for control against Ozpin.

"Oscar?" Khazhak mutters.

"Stop her from what?" Yang asks.

Oscar strains against Ozpin, "He's afraid... you'll find out what he's... hiding!" he says, gritting his teeth. Oscar suddenly collapses. Yang, Weiss and Blake glare at him, and Khazhak stands protectively in front of Ruby while she holds the Relic of Knowledge closer to her chest in defense. "Her name... is Jinn... Say her name to summon her," Oscar strains to say.

"Her name?" Ruby mutters. The wind picks up much more gradually, blowing snow even harder. The Relic starts to glow in Ruby's hands as she stares at it. "...Jinn?" she mutters.

Suddenly, the snow stops, floating in midair. The wind stops blowing too. Everyone looks around at the sudden change in the environment, feeling on edge.

"What?" Qrow says.

 **"Well, this is certainly getting interesting?"** Bahamut says as Khazhak looks around.

"Tiamat? What is this?" Voshkie'ahk asks.

 **"I'm not quite sure, my child. But, whatever force this is, it's powerful,"** Tiamat replies.

Ruby, Khazhak, and everyone else watch as the Relic of Knowledge floats into the air above them, and then gets enveloped in a thick blue smoke. Suddenly, a semi-nude female figure takes its place, with blue skin and long, dark blue hair, wearing gold jewelry and ornaments worn around her body. The spirit that inhabits the lamp: Jinn. Jinn moans as she stretches her body, having finally been awakened after who knows how long.

"Ah, much better," Jinn says. Everyone continues to stare in awe. "So... Tell me, what knowledge do you seek?" Jinn asks, resting her chin on her right hand as she floats in mid-air. Maria adjusts her goggles to get a better look at the magical being in front of her. "I am Jinn, a being created by the God of Light to aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge. I've been graced with the ability to answer three questions every one hundred years," Jinn introduces herself.

 **"What sort of magic is this?** " Bahamut asks.

Jinn smirks at the Ryu siblings, "Ah, now this is a real treat. To be in the presence of two of the last dragons in existence. It certainly is a pleasure to meet you," Jinn says.

 **"Wait, can she hear us?"** Tiamat asks.

"Indeed, I can, Tiamat, dragon queen of the skies," Jinn says, and then turns to Khazhak. "And I certainly know of you, Bahamut, the dragon of destruction," she greets them.

 **"But, you are not connected to us like Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk. You shouldn't be able to hear us,"** Bahamut says.

"I am the spirit that inhabits the Relic of Knowledge. As such, I know all of this world's history, this world's past, including the history of your kind. You know what? Since this is the first time I've ever encountered a dragon, I'll give you all a special treat," Jinn says, and then snaps her fingers.

Suddenly, everything around them becomes a white void. Everyone looks around, finding nothing around them, while the members of Team KEPL tense of up and draw their weapons. However, two large shadows loom over them, and everyone looks up to see two large dragons standing before them. Tiamat and Bahamut. While Bahamut has dark blue scales, red eyes, and a more menacing appearance, Tiamat's white scales, and green horns and wings and eyes give off a more majestic and calming feeling to her.

"What... what are they?" Blake gasps.

"Wait, you can see them?" Voshkie'ahk asks, and they all nod.

"They are Bahamut and Tiamat, the dragons that are connected to our souls. But how is this possible?" Khazhak says.

"Indeed," Jinn says as she appears before them. "I think before we get down to business, we could have a little history lesson. A lesson about the rise and fall of the dragon race," Jinn says.

The scenery around them suddenly changes, showing a vast wilderness with mountains in the background. They then see several dragons flying through the skies over the wilderness.

"More dragons!" Yang gasps.

"I'm sure that you've all been told already about how the gods of light and darkness worked together to create a race that could embody the four gifts they granted to Remnant: creation, destruction, knowledge, and choice. However, even the old man didn't know that the humans were not the first race they tried this with. They were the second. The first race was the kingdom of dragons. Before mankind was born, dragons were created to inherit the four gifts to Remnant. They were powerful, wise, could use magic, and lived almost eternally. However, because they were created not too long after the war between the god brothers ended, there was a... complication," Jinn explains while showing images of the dragons living their lives.

"What complication?" Blake asks.

 **"The Grimm,"** Bahamut says, his voice echoing in the dimension.

"Indeed. The god of darkness had created the Grimm to counteract his brother's creations, and during the war he expedited the process. As such, there were far more Grimm back then than there are now. The Grimm began fighting against the dragons in their own war," Jinn says.

The scene changes again, showing fire and destruction around them as they watched the dragons battle against the Grimm hordes. Dragons breathed a variety of breath attacks and used other forms of magic, destroying many Grimm. However, they also see dragons getting overwhelmed and killed by the vast numbers of the Grimm.

"While the dragons had the power, they were outnumbered, and in their arrogance, they eventually fell to the dark beasts. However, before they could be completely wiped from history, a few dragons performed a ritual, using everything they knew about magic, to safeguard their souls and be reborn in their next descendants. However, even they did not know that their descendants would be humans. This is how the tales of the Dragon Spirit were born. Humans with the power of dragons throughout the pages of history. Eventually, time would end for them, and now the newest tale of this power falls onto the shoulders of siblings from the same family," Jinn tells the story.

"Khazhak and Voshkie'ahk," Qrow says.

"Yes. The Ryu bloodline draws all the way back to the beginning of mankind's birth. They were among the most of the dragons' descendants, as were a few others. However, that bloodline has since dwindled, as does everything else. Bahamut and Tiamat weren't the only dragons to have performed the ritual. A few others did as well, but when the last of their descendants died, they, too, vanished from the face of Remnant. Much like those born with the power of the Silver Eyes," Jinn says, looking to Ruby who gets a bit nervous, though Khazhak stands protectively in front of her. "And now, only a few remain. The last of the Ryu bloodline, and the last of the dragon kind," Jinn concludes her tale as the scenery returns to the normal snowy wilderness they were in before.

"So, that's how it all happened. The story about the Dragon Spirit. We weren't even close to completely understanding it," Ozpin says, regaining his voice as he regains control from Oscar.

"Yes, and now that we have taken care of that little treat, time for business. As the spirit that dwells within the lamp, I can answer three questions every one hundred years about anything that is in regards to the past and present, but not for the future, as the future has not yet been written. However, you're in luck, as I am still able to answer-," Jinn says.

"That's enough!" Ozpin suddenly yells out, making everyone look at him.

"...two questions this era," Jinn finishes.

Everyone is shocked, despite Ozpin telling them that the Relic won't work for them beforehand, here Jinn says that she can still answer two questions for them. Khazhak and Yang grit their teeth as they glare at Ozpin.

Jinn chuckles, "Oh, I almost forgot about you. It's a pleasure to see you again, old man," Jinn greets him.

"Ruby, please... Don't," Ozpin begs her.

Qrow glances to Ozpin, and steps forward," Hey," he begins, only for the three members of Team RWBY to stand defensively between him and Ruby. Qrow eventually relents and raises his hands in surrender. "Do, what you think is right, kiddo," he says.

"Ruby, please, listen to me-," Ozpin begs again.

"Team KEPL, restrain him," Khazhak orders them.

Lloyd jumps up and lands on Ozpin's back, keeping him nailed to the ground while Reaper and Porphyrius have their weapons aimed at his face.

Ruby watches them as she thinks about what question to ask, "Jinn?" she begins. Jinn looks at her curiously, while Ozpin tries to break himself free, only for Lloyd to engage his semblance and keep him further in place with his extra weight. "What is Ozpin hiding from us?" Ruby asks her question.

"NOOOOOOO!" Ozpin screams in vain as he reaches out to Ruby, only for everything to suddenly go white again, and she finds herself alone.

"Wha-what? Weiss? Yang?" Ruby calls out as she looks around, only for her to disappear and Yang taking her place.

"Blake? Ru-," Yang begins as she calls out to her friends, but she too vanishes before Weiss appears in her place.

"-by? Reaper?" Weiss calls out, but then she's replaced by Reaper.

"Weiss? Khaz-," Reaper calls out, only for Porphyrius to take his place.

"Yang? Where are you, Ya-," Porphyrius shouts, only for Blake to take his place.

"-ng? Yang?" Blake calls out.

Now, Lloyd takes her place, "Brother? Voshkie'ahk?" Lloyd calls out, and then Voshkie'ahk appears, with Tiamat behind her.

"I don't like this," Voshkie'ahk says.

 **"It will be alright my child,"** Tiamat says.

They are then replaced by their respective siblings.

"Ruby? Voshkie? Great, my luck," Khazhak groans.

 **"It seems we are in the palm of Jinn's hand now,"** Bahamut notes.

Suddenly, an environment manifests, showing a path leading to a castle in the distance. A woman humming can be heard in the background. The pair look on as the scenery begins to change again.

"Once upon a time, there stood a lonely tower...," Jinn begins narrating her tale. Smoke envelops them, and Qrow appears where they were. He looks behind him. "...that sheltered a lonely girl..." Jinn continues as the scenery shows a rather beautiful woman sitting in front of a mirror. Ruby then appears and walks up to her. "...Named... Salem," Jinn says as the woman turns, revealing a sad face.

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. The group learn about Reaper's connection with Maria, but that's not the only thing they learn. They also learn that Ozpin has still been keeping secrets from them, even when he said he wouldn't. Finally, we learn about the past of the dragons and how they fell to the Grimm. What tale is Jinn about to tell them? Is this human Salem the same Salem they've been fighting against? Until then, please Read and Review.**


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